What a Family is Connected By
by PurpleReader29
Summary: Rachel is a kind girl with a love of music and a large heart, what will happen when her trip to New York City turns out to now only a trip across the country, but also a parallel universe where the Avengers are real people and their story is only beginning. With a knowledge of the past and the future, what will change?
1. Introduction

Breathing in the summer air, I continued walking through the trees. It was amazing that I was on an island were every square inch is coveted and ridiculously priced, yet couldn't see anything but nature around me. Whoever had the idea of saving Central Park was a genius. I do admit I'm not the most avid nature person, but the fact that a ten minute walk took me straight back to cars that go zero to thirty to zero in less than a minute, concrete, pizza, and living spaces helped me appreciate it a lot more. What tickled me silly is all the signs stating fines for honking. New York is characterized by its honking traffic jams, yet I have not heard any honking here for the last three days. My brain tuned back into what was music was playing in my earphone, and it suddenly struck home-hard and fast. My feet stilled as my lips formed the words to "Superman" by Five for Fighting.

_Wish that I could cry Fall upon my knees Find a way to lie, 'Bout a home I'll never see_

_It might sound absurd, But don't be naive Even heroes have to right to bleed I may be disturbed But won't you conceive Even heroes have to right to dream And it's not easy to be me_

During the second part, it was easier to simply see the Superman interpretation of the lyrics instead of layering mine on as well. Taking in my surroundings again, I spotted that the bench I had sketched at the last two days was taken. It was a rather large blonde man who seemed familiar.

_I'm not crazy or anything_

I laughed a good hard laugh. Perfect timing. Of course this guy wasn't Captain America's actor, Chris whats-his-name. It was surprising I even knew his name was Chris, I wasn't into the actors very much. It kind of detracts from the story experience thinking about how that person was in all these other movies. The non-Captain looked at me as I laughed.

"Sorry, generally I find that song much more touching, but today, with that particular line I needed a laugh." I sat down by a tree next to the empty side of the bench, wrapping my floor length skirt around my legs so I was warm in the shade of the trees. "If I squeal, I either had an idea that made me very happy, or there are ants. Nothing to worry about." I continued my comments to myself, smiling, "I'm not crazy or anything." The man chuckled quietly at my comments. It was good to see a smile. I probably seemed weird singing along to my music and smiling to everyone, but hey, I'm from the south. People are happier and more optimistic there.

Pulling out my sketch pad, I began sketching superman for fun. I noticed the song "Behind these Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson was playing, and I speculated what superman would be like if he only had normal relationship problems. More boring, but also more real. My mind slightly randomly was reminded of the rendition of superman portrayed in Mega Mind. I mean, superheroes need a break sometimes. Having other outlets other than bad-guy smashing-like Ukelele playing- was perfectly normal. Him not realizing how bad he was, not so realistic. My mind was still hung up on the idea of the guy sitting on the bench looking like Captain America, so unconsciously I whispered to myself, "Captain America would do something like learn the Ukelele, but he would make sure he sounded good. Go to lessons twice a week and everything."

As I whispered, I flipped the page of my pad and sketched Captain America sitting playing an Ukelele near the middle of the page. "Looking good Captain," I told the page as I finished.

"You talking to me?" The man on the bench interrupted my concentration, but I smiled at his curiosity.

"No, just my drawing. See?" I turned the drawing toward him. The pencil lines were light, but he was able to at least get an idea of what I had drawn. His eyebrows raised high. A small part of my mind wondered if he was impressed with my drawing skills, but the larger part of it knew they really weren't that great. "Stark should get an Ukelele too; he probably would even put a pick in his suit." The confused look on the man's face drew all doubt from my mind that this man was not Chris the actor. "You know, Iron Man?" His further confusion caused me confusion. "Where have you been for the last couple years? These are kind of high popularity names." The way he turned away quickly, hiding his face, made me regret my words. "Sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings; I've been a little obsessed for...other reasons. Its not like everyone else drops their lives to watch superhero movies over and over again." My own thoughts went over all that had happened in my own life, and I quickly turned back to my drawing pushing those thoughts far away.

Stark standing in his suit playing his own Ukelele was soon added behind and to the right of Captain. I wanted to draw Bruce next, but I felt he should get his own space to the far left. I noted that he should get a guitar so he could play the blues. First, I needed to get the spacing correct, so I drew a mighty Thor on the couch beside Steve with his hammer on the floor beside him, playing a recorder of some kind. I loved the way my brain worked. Still chuckling to myself, I added Bruce in then tapped my pencil trying to remember the rest of the team. "Of course! How could I forget those two?" Mentally slapping myself, I added Clint in the top left corner above Bruce and Thor playing a harp that consisted of his bow with a couple extra strings. "Sorry bow boy, it is too perfect to pass up." I thought about what I wanted Natasha to do, and went back to my first thought of her singing. She got the right side of the picture singing her heart out. As I stopped to grab my colored pencils from my shoulder bag, I heard a voice.

"Can I see your drawing again?" It was the guy on the bench.

"Sure." I was happy to share the funny scene, I just wondered exactly why he was so curious. Standing up, I sat by him on the bench. "Here." I handed him the pad, wondering what his reaction would be like.

"Is that a star on his chest?" he asked, pointing toward my Captain America.

"Yep." I pulled out my light blue pencil and lightly colored in the top half of Captain's shirt except for the star while my pad was held in the man's hands. Then I swapped pencils putting in the red stripes. "That's a very rush job, but basically what his uniform looks like. Do you recognize him now?"

"Yeah." The man was so quiet, I almost didn't hear him make a sound. "But how do you know what he looks like?" He looked right at me, and the intensity of his question was shown in his eyes. He seemed distressed by the drawing! And then that little voice in the back of my head came back, much louder saying, _he looks just like Captain America!_

"He's on a bunch of posters." I was confused, for various reasons, and my overactive imagination was going into overdrive. Trying to distract myself, I pulled out my phone and realized my alarm was about to go off. Turning it off, I turned to the man again. "I'm sorry, but I've got to go. I've going to see Wicked." I couldn't keep the ear splitting grin off my face as I gently took the pad from his hand and placed in back in my bag. As I stood up and walked away, I shook my head to clear it from all my wild thoughts. Avengers could be dwelled on later. I was going to Oz.


	2. Impossibilities

I was going to a matinee of Wicked because that was when I could get the best seats. The first time I saw Wicked, it was from the second to back row on the second balcony at an off-Broadway production. I was in New York though, so I was going all out with third row seats. Though normally a thrifty person, what was fifty more dollars compared to the already hundred dollar ticket let alone the flight to New York and hotel cost?

Of course, the second time watching Wicked was even better than the first. During intermission, still hyped on Defying Gravity, I looked around the theater. I noticed two people sitting in a private balcony to the side of the stage. I wouldn't have thought that people normally sat there. I could kind-of see the people's faces and they looked like Tony and Pepper from Iron Man. Actors want to see musicals too, if it even was them-it probably wasn't. I snickered to myself at the idea that if it was the real Tony he would have just dropped a bunch of cash so that he could sit wherever he wanted. Pepper probably would have to talk him out of a seat on top of the mechanical dragon.

Not far from the theater was a restaurant called Ellen's Stardust Diner. Feeling particularly brave, I entered the diner to find it had a retro 50's theme. Even better, I learned the staff was famous for singing. As Broadway performers, and Broadway hopefuls, sang Broadway and Disney songs, I ate my burgers and fries. Suddenly, the speakers asked us to sing happy birthday to one of the customers. The whole diner broke into song. That was so cool! I wanted to do that. Too bad by birthday was still a couple months away and there was no way I was coming back to New York so soon. Maybe next year. I probably could have asked to be sung to anyway, but it wouldn't be as special if it really wasn't my birthday.

As I ate, I thought about all I had learned about New York in three short days. I had taken a tour and was amused by what I learned. First off, the Empire State building was supposed to be a office complex, but the cubical were so small, and there had been the depression, that there wasn't enough business to keep it running. Having the building in King Kong had actually been a publicity stunt! Even today the building makes a profit not by renting office space, but charging tourists to visit the top. If you want a view of the Empire State though, you want to visit Rockefeller instead.

The twin towers also had a surprising history, but some background was required. Before you go to New York, you would think that all skyscrapers are the same-tall, rectangular blocks. They are not. Exhibit A: Some rich guy started a stone building with Gothic architecture, but his money ran out, so years later a very modern glass building with steel helix structure on it was added on top. Exhibit B: All the cool tops of skyscrapers: the Empire State building, the Rockefeller, and numerous others. Exhibit C: Lots of stone buildings with lots of little windows. Exhibit ect.: Look at pictures of New York. All the buildings look different.

So with this in mind, look at pictures of the mourned twin towers. They stick straight up and dominate everything around them in height, even the beloved Empire State. This might be the reason why New Yorkers were angry, yes angry, when the twin towers started being built. However, when they were almost finished, a tight-roper sneaked into the construction site with a bunch of his buddies and tied a tight rope between the tops of the buildings. Then, the guy proceeded to tight rope between these super-tall buildings! Before he got to the other side though, the police showed up, so he simply turned around to go the other side. The police had come up on that side as well, so he simply walked back and forth for a while before taking a five minute car nap, on the tight rope! When he finally came down, no charges were pressed because of so much positive media on the towers. The towers had become human in the eyes of New Yorkers leading to the emotional attachment that would affect many when they got struck.

No matter how many cool things I learned, I wouldn't call myself a New Yorker by a long stretch, but I consider myself significantly more educated. Happily, I exited the diner, but stopped in my tracks as I realized there was a new building on the skyline. One that was physically impossible, yet the letters STARK looked back at me. I could see someone just sticking the letters on their building for fun, but like I said, all skyscrapers look different. This was definitely The Stark Tower, yet it couldn't be! Tearing my eyes away, I convinced myself I had made it up and continued my way toward Times Square. A smile lite my face as I entered the giant Disney store found there. Yes, I am almost 21, but the Disney store is timeless.

I browsed for a while before deciding to see if I could find a cool Avenger's T-shirt. I had been wanting one for a while. However, I could find no Avengers merchandise in the large store. Thinking about all I had 'seen' today, I decided not to ask the employees for help. I had a strange feeling they wouldn't know what I was talking about, and that word was not to be used lightly if even an infinitesimal part of what I feared was true. Stepping out of the store, the word STARK once again stared at me, and there was even an Iron Man billboard up. Then I saw it, a little streak of red and gold go in front of the tower. It circled again and again. The sheer impossibility of it all threatened to explode my brain. I decided to head back to my hotel in New Jersey.

I walked away from the busy center of the city as much as possible. When traffic seemed less dense, I wearily hailed a taxi. It was just as weird the fifth time as the first. However, my hotel was way too far to walk. The car ride was still ridiculously long, so I had plenty of time to think. How in the world had a stark tower been built? Awkwardly, I began to talk with my cab driver.

"How long has Stark Tower been around?" He seemed a little startled, but gruffly replied.

"Finished work a couple months ago." So I could just have been wrapped up in school work and never known-yeah right. Everyone at school would have been talking if such a structure was being built. Pondering all I had recently learned about the New York reception of new buildings, I braved another question.

"So what's the New Yorker reception of it?" This time, he gave me a weird look.

"What makes you ask that?"

"Well, I'm a tourist, obviously, and I have learned that several builds weren't particularly well received when the were built, even if they are beloved today." Gruffly, he turned back to the road, but he conceded to answer my question with more detail than bare bones.

"The tower went up surprisingly fast. People have barely begun to make opinions. The speed of the building has put people off, since they wouldn't have been able to protest even if they had figured out they wanted to. The promise of the building going to run on clean energy has earned interest and some building owners have tried to approach Stark to ask if they can get in on this. Of course, Stark, being the way he is, hasn't deigned to meet with anyone yet."

I snorted, trying to focus on the comedic aspect of his comments. However, a darker subtext was there for only me. The driver was speaking of Stark as a real person, not a movie character. If, if-BIG IF-Stark was a real person, I was pretty sure that meant others were real too. But, how could they be real and part of a movie? I mean, that would be a spectacular cover-up, except for the fact that Stark had too big of an ego to remain hidden behind the guise of an actor. It also didn't make a lot of sense since I hadn't heard of Iron Man before the movies or out of a movie context. Shouldn't his company be so large I would have heard something about it? Clean energy was also throwing me off; could technology have advanced that much?

The reality of superheroes and the reality of them being in movies clashed in logic, and that scared me. For my own safety, I had to pretend there was only the reality of superheroes when I started researching the internet. Anything that suggested I had too much information, or gave too much information to those who did not believe in fair play, I would be in a world of problems along with the heroes. Despite how much I wanted to believe that I was just making all this up, the possibility I wasn't just a victim of my overactive imagination meant I had to measure my words and actions very carefully.

At the hotel I payed the taxi driver, before heading directly to my laptop in my room. During the ride I decided 'Iron Man' was a safe thing to search. According to the movie, Stark had revealed himself and was well known as Iron Man. Instead of movie posters on the left, a Wikipedia page about a fictitious character, a Marvel Universe web page, and other movie information-especially about the third one soon to come out- was newspaper articles criticizing or praising or simply informing the populace of his actions. Determined to find something about the movies (and my sanity), I debated whether typing 'movie' after the words 'Iron Man.' It could be harmless enough; it might seem like I was searching for videos of him. Thoughts about simply putting the number '2' instead ran through my mind. What would someone think reading this? A somewhat hysterical laugh was issued from my mouth. Having two Iron Mans would drive Fury mad! Sobering, I had further thought, _or it could be referring to Rhodey_. Debating between the two, I decided movie was safe enough and more directly what I wanted. However _Tetsuo, the Iron Man_ from 1989, _Eight Iron Men_, nor _Man of Iron_ from 1981 were what I wanted. There should be pages and pages and pages about the Iron Man movie I was looking for, but there wasn't.

How could the movie be gone? How could the tower be there? My search had confirmed my need for secrecy and carefulness in words and actions. I tried to think of which of the others was safe enough to search for, but none of them were. Natasha and Clint were undercover spies-no one was supposed to know about them-, Bruce was wanted by the military, Steve was Captain America, under the radar and presumed dead, and Thor was a mythological person that confused and frightened SHIELD. I could obtain no further information to aid the paradox in my mind.

I so wanted to go back to when the Avengers were simply movie characters. Its fun to fantasize meeting them, but in reality they were dangerous and that meant the world was also a lot more dangerous with the villains they were fighting running around. It also meant something really, really weird was going on if I had changed realities. I had to accept the fact that there just might be the possibility that what I thought was fiction was now fact or else I was in a lot of trouble though.

There was a knock on the door. It startled me from the thoughts that I had been swamped with inside my head. I really hoped it was just room service. I didn't know anyone else in this town. To my surprise, I recognized the man outside my door, or at least I thought I did. He was alive? If he was, that totally destroyed my theory! I was only insane! My brain reminded me that if this indeed who I thought it was, I needed to open the door before he broke it down. And breaking it down would mean he was suspicious in some way. And I really didn't want SHIELD thinking badly of me if my theory was correct.

"Who is it?"

"This is Agent Coulson. Can I speak to you for a moment?"


	3. Incomprehensible

"Agent?" For how well I had been taking things, my sudden wish for complete denial was not that surprising. I had been ignoring it for so long to stay 'safe' if it really was all true, that I had little to combat it with now.

"I'm from SHIELD; its a part of the government. Rachel, we think you may have seen something today that we need to know about." Although my non-denial half thought he was lying about the government involvement, I cautiously opened the door getting a good look at Agent Coulson. Then my brain registered his full comment.

"How do you know my name?" He chuckled dryly.

"I'm part of the government; it's what I do." I closed the door behind him. He looked at the door then back to me. "You met someone in Central Park today." No way. No way, no way, no way. It couldn't have been. "He said you did an excellent drawing of a group of people including Iron Man. We were just wondering why you drew it."

Yeah right. Like they had time to chase after every artist who drew Iron Man. However, it was a lot less suspicious then Captain America's name. Surprisingly, my brain came up with a decent lie.

"I recently learned about Captain America at school and wanted to draw him next to our modern hero, a kind of comparison. I threw in some other hero-like figures from my life in too."

"I heard they were playing musical instruments." I shrugged.

"Artistic license and a bored mind."

"Can I see it?" If it really was an innocent picture, it would be no big deal to show it. However, Agent Coulson would most definitely recognize at least Clint and Natasha.

"I would prefer not. It's not that good."

"That's not what I heard." I quickly looked away from his searching eyes, trying to come up with a plausible solution. However, a wave of denial hit me. Standing up, I pulled my cell phone out and speed dialed called my best friend.

"Megan, I really appreciate the gesture, but finding actor look-alikes is more freaky than cool."

"Who is this?"

"First Mr Stars and Stripes on the bench I've been drawing at for the last couple days, and now Agent Coulson. Mr Stars and Stripes was cool and all, but why Coulson? His appearance really threw me off." Even while throwing caution to the wind, a part of my brain still desperately kept me from revealing too much information.

"Excuse me, I think you have the wrong number. This is Megan Smith speaking."

"Sorry, this is Rachel Christenson."

"I'm sorry as well. I don't know a Rachel Christenson. Have a good day."

I kept my phone by my ear for a moment. What had just happened? It had sounded like the Megan I knew, but then again there could be lots of Megan Smiths. But I had her number programmed in my phone! A phone number error was the least of my problems.

I removed the phone from my ear, but avoided looking at Agent Coulson. I was confused, but I still needed proof for myself before I could explain things to the probably extremely anxious and confused agent. "What is a synonym for the name of the director of SHIELD?" A nice question with an answer that wouldn't be giving up too much information for him.

"Santa?" I finally looked at Coulson, confusion probably written all over my face, but it was written on his too. Then my brain processed what he had said. And I laughed. I probably sounded hysterical.

"I meant Director Fury's last name, but that works too." I continued to laugh, pitch rising. "Dear old Nick. Don't let Tony ever hear that..."

'Reality' snapped into me, and I realized that normally I didn't call adults by their first name. However, these fictitious heroes in my brain were called by their first names. The true nature of all that had happened was falling on me. How different were things from in the movies if Agent Coulson was alive and...wait. Stark Tower wasn't demolished. I'm sure the cab driver would have mentioned something about an alien invasion originating from the tower. How soon before the events of the movie was I? Had Tony built the new element yet? Had Thor crash landed? I couldn't just ask for that information though. Agent Coulson didn't trust me, and I didn't want to reveal anything that hadn't happened yet. According to the movies, everyone but Agent Coulson got a happy ending. So it was best to keep it that way. Knowledge of the future would change the future in unknown ways. I had to make SHIELD, or at least Agent Coulson see that way.

"So you know Star Wars?" My train of thought was derailed though, when I had sudden, scary idea entered my head. What if this reality didn't have Star Wars? I would be so, so sad, but that might mean it was reality too! But then the sad reality of Anakin's life would come to pass. Poor Ani. And I couldn't help him being a universe away! My craziness was broken off by Agent Coulson's reply.

"Yes..."

"So imagine..." Wait, the different place thing really didn't factor into my analogy. What was a better comparison? "What about Transformers?" Agent Coulson seemed thrown by my topic change.

"What?"

"The machines that turn into cars or giant robots with conscious minds of their own? Some are good, the autobots, and some are bad, the decepticons-don't you love the name, its so obvious which side they are on. However, their looks are not obvious to distinguish, which probably gives the government a huge headache." Agent Coulson looked at me like I was going mad. Not that I knew if I was or not, but surely there weren't autobots as well as the Avengers here! "Even government agents like you have to be let out sometime. Movie are an essential American pastime!" After a couple blinks, Agent Coulson spoke.

"We are taking about movies?" Of course I was! I mean, he said he know about Star Wars. I had thought we were on the same page...

"When I said Star Wars you thought I meant the defense plan while I meant a fictitious movie!" My laugh was recognized by a sagely nod from Agent Coulson as he finally understood what I was talking about. Then I became quite serious. "Or supposedly fictitious. That's the real point of all this." I looked directly at Agent Coulson, trying to gauge his reaction. "What if you saw a movie, and then a couple months later, you see things happening that happened _in the movie_. And then, while trying to convince yourself your eyesight is bad, or it was just a publicity or geek stunt, you realize you can't find anything about the movie online. A _popular_ movie that has several parts. And because of those several parts you don't know when in the series you are, only that the movies aren't over yet. But you can't tell anyone cause it could get out to the bad guys, or the good guys would want the information. And the good guys would be suspicious, and they would want answers. But what if those answers could change the future? And what if the future looks really good right now? And what if telling would make bad things happen? And what if she is just making everything up? What if she is just cracking? What if..." My careful answer decayed into rambling, and all my fears seemed to tumble out. I tried to stop speaking, stop thinking. I couldn't think about the what ifs anymore though. They had been circling for several hours now, and my denial had still not been resolved, my future was in jeopardy, and I was just so scared. Tears ran freely down my cheeks and I began sobbing.

Hands gripped each of my shoulders. "And here I thought I had seen the weirdest the world had to offer." I chuckled weakly. "I thought you would appreciate that sentiment." I still couldn't respond though, my brain trying to figure out what I could say more, and what had to be carefully hidden. I was a thoughtful girl, but now my every word had to be attentively planned. Even when I had stopped crying and Agent Coulson had drawn back, I remained silent. I probably had said too much already. I heard him sigh a heavy sigh right next to me. "Knowledge is a terrible burden isn't it?" I nodded. "From what I understand, I agree that knowledge of the future should be kept to a minimum." I looked up into his calculating, gentle eyes. "Why don't you come back to my office, and I can ask you some Santa questions," I cut him off with a quiet giggle, "so I can know for sure that you know what you shouldn't. And then, you can ask me some more Santa questions if you need to. Alright?"

I nodded and hope began to blossom. I had someone on my side! Someone who understood enough, or at least as much I did. And I couldn't have a better person on my side. He knew about all the Avengers and wasn't scary like Director Fury. He seemed kind and made jokes. He seemed like the Director's right hand man, so he had the power to keep my safe from those who would force the information from me. Agent Coulson also seemed like a trustworthy man, though he was part of a secret organization and lied as part of him living. Oh well, no one was perfect.


	4. Intentions

"I think, for your own protection, you should pack your belongings and check out of this hotel."

"My own protection mentally or physically?"

Unsurprisingly, Agent Coulson didn't give a committal response. Ignoring him, I quickly gathered my belongings. Since I hadn't wanted to loose anything, I had been abnormally well organized. As we left the hotel, I tried to look carefree, but not smug-please don't anyone think I looked smug- so they didn't think I was being carted off to jail or something by the agent in front of me. Not that they necessarily knew he was an agent, but he had that look about him. When we neared the lobby, I careful navigated myself around him and toward the front desk. He kept walking toward the front, glass doors, then looked out like he was waiting for someone. Keeping me from leaving was more like it. After praising the name of Coulson, I started to realize that what I had told him so far was no way near enough to convince him I actually knew what I was talking about.

"I'm sorry, but something has come up and I need to cancel the rest of my reservation."

"That's alright," the girl, Jessica the badge said, at the counter gave me a small smile. "We have canceled reservations all the time. What's your name?"

"Rachel Christenson."

"Ah, here you are." After a short pause she spoke again, "All done. Just sign here to confirm the amount withdrawn from your account to make the cancellation." Even knowing it was cheaper to cancel than leave the rooms empty still caused me to sigh at the lost money.

Walking out of the hotel, I followed Agent Coulson to a small, black car. The black was a huge surprise-sarcasm. What was surprising was the fact that he was sitting in the driver's seat. In the movies, didn't he always exit from the backseat? I walked around to the other side of the car, then began debating which door to open. The window on the front door rolled open.

"Is there a problem?"he asked.

"Do you want me in the front seat, or the back?"

"Whichever makes you more comfortable." That was considerate of him. Having gotten enough of sitting in back with the taxis the last couple days, I felt brave enough to open the front door and sit down. I automatically did my seat belt, but the agent obviously waited for me to be secured before starting to back up. It was probably refreshing to not have to tell me to buckle-up, but even if it hadn't been a habit all my life, I still would have made it a priority.

"Right now you are still under SHIELD's radar. I and one other person are the only people who know you know too much. I thought it might all just be a coincidence, and you had me convinced until the phone call." I couldn't tell if I was happy I had freaked out at the moment, or angry at myself. If I hadn't freaked out I would think I was crazy, but would have a normal life. Having freaked out, I now had the attention of a secret agent who was willing to help me.

"Denial is always easier, and I had been taking everything very well up to that point. Therefore, it wasn't surprising I had a break down." There was silence in the car for a little while. "You know, a part of me is super excited to meet everyone. I mean, heroes are cool whoever they are. But I also am aware that they are dangerous, real people who won't like the fact that I know so much about them. Not that I would tell them that I do."

"That is a mature way to look at it. Especially since most teenagers girls would just wish to look at them and squeal loudly." I blushed at the complement.

"I am twenty, technically not a teenager anymore." He looked over at me, and the look said- that doesn't make that much of a difference. I agreed. "You are right, most girls my age would only think about how handsome they are. I actually don't generally get along very well with those my own age. True adults and young people, I'm great with them. My own peer group, not nearly as well." I started to say more, then suddenly realized exactly who I was speaking to. Why was I spilling the truth of my pitiful social life to a stranger? He really didn't need to know this, for any reason. I decided to get back to the real matter at hand. "So, is this car secure?"

"What do you mean?" he replied with a critiquing look.

"You seem to be heading into the city, and going anywhere there in a car is going to be a while, so I might as well start convincing you as we go. I'm not convinced you won't drop me off at a mental institution." He was silent for a while, repeatedly looking back at me.

"And why do you think I would do that?" I gave a shaky laugh.

"First, I know I have not given you nearly enough information for you to believe me. Second, the only things making me think that all this is true despite all logic is a...superhero look-alike, a tower that isn't supposed to be there, a flying flash of red and gold, information that is not on the internet, and a comment about Santa. Not a lot to base your mental stability on."

"So you think you are mentally unstable?" What a loaded question. Yes, yes I did. I had two clashing realities in my head, but telling him that I was mentally unstable meant he wouldn't believe another word I said and I would never figure out what was going on. Then I heard a non-humorous chuckle come from Agent Coulson. "That was a rhetorical question." I could tell he wanted the answer though. My mind turned over the idea of the definition of insanity. Then I remembered something a friend of mine had told me.

"My friend has this argument. Basically the definition of insanity is believing in an alternative reality, right?" There was an awkward pause before Agent Coulson realized I actually wanted an answer.

"Yes."

"So then everyone is insane." A smile quirked at the corner of my mouth as I watched Agent Coulson's stoic face remain stoic. "Everyone has believed in the alternative reality of a book or movie at least for a little while. Even using your imagination as a child is believing in another reality." My thoughts continued even when my words didn't. Those who were labeled as insane simply believed in their reality too much and too long. I pulled out my phone and checked the time. It was little over two hours since I had left the Stardust Diner, about the same amount of time as a long movie. Not long at all to believe in something that should be fiction. However, if I woke up tomorrow and everything was still weird, I would be insane. Even if the Avengers were now 'real,' I would be insane with two realities clashing in my head.

"The answer to your earlier question is yes." Agent Coulson's voice after the long silence startled me and it took me a minute to realize what he meant.

"So the car is secure?"

"That's what I said, yes." Was that a slight, slight amused tone used by Agent Coulson? Instead of dwelling on it, I thought about what I wanted to say.

"So the man who was on the bench in Central Park was Captain America?" A brilliant smile light up him face, and I thought he looked ten times better with it.

"Yes." The reality of the situation crashed onto me.

"I actually met Captain America?" Agent Coulson's smile stayed on his face.

"Yep. Living legend in the flesh. I have vintage trading cards."

"I know." My brain processed my words and then desperately wished to shove those words back into my mouth. I was definitely not going to mention how cute Agent Coulson looked while fan-girling, though.

"How exactly?" At least I didn't have say something like I stalked him. Just watched a couple movies with him as a reoccurring character.

"There is a movie called Iron Man showing Tony Stark's life from when he showed off his last big weapon to being captured in Afghanistan to revealing he is the Iron Man." That was a safe movie to describe; which other ones were as well? Thor was undefined at the moment. However... "Captain America follows Steve Rodgers from kid in Brooklyn to super-soldier crashing into the ice with a nice little snippet at the end of his waking up in the 21st century. There are a couple other movies, but you get the idea." I looked at Agent Coulson and this time instead of looking stoic, his face looked more blank. I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it, so I let him have a moment to process.

"How many other movies?" Information seeking agent was back online.

"There was another one about Iron Man when..." I knew Stark Tower hadn't been built in the second movie, so I assumed this was safe to say, "Mr Stark almost died because of poisoning from the arc reactor and had the Stark expo and everything. Mr Stark's ego just needed another movie." I actually got a soft chuckle from the agent! "There is another one named after someone, but I don't know if they are on your radar yet. And another one that definitely is in the future."

"And how do you know that?" I couldn't just say, 'you're alive.'

"I do. Also, if I remember right, near the beginning of the movie, Mr Stark gets Stark Tower turned on using arc reactor technology."

"And why would they show that in the movie?"

"Well, it shows Iron man messing with some pipes outside the city then going back to going back to Pepper and having a cute moment...twelve percent," I chuckled, "and then you come in asking for Mr Stark."

"I thought you said he only had two movies?"

"The future movie is a group," I really, really hoped I wasn't giving away too much information with that simple statement, "but I really can't say more. However, has anything happened in New Mexico recently?"

"I'm sure a lot of things have happened." I simply looked at him. Humor again? "Something unusual happened there about a year ago."

"Involving a hammer?" He nodded. I began reviewing everything I knew.

"If Thor has made his appearance, and its been a year..." I heard somewhere that Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor had all happened in the same week. In the movie Doctor Banner has mentioned something about not being Hulked out for a year..."So that means everything is set in motion for the last movie to begin." The car came to a stop in an underground parking lot.

"My private office is upstairs; how about you finish explaining up there." Mutely I nodded at Agent Coulson and followed him through the parking lot.


	5. Intermediate

After swiping a special card and punching in a code, the elevator that Agent Coulson led me into opened onto a hall way with several doors leading off it. He led me to one after finding a hidden catch in the wall and entering another code. Inside was a decent sized office with a large desk with a large flat screen computer on top of it. The walls were blank and the curtains were drawn away from the windows behind the desk allowing a view at the city a decent ways below.

"Let me go grab you a chair. I'll be right back." It made sense he didn't have an extra chair. This seemed more like an office than a place to talk, but I was sure this was the most secure place to be other than an actually SHIELD building. It didn't take long for Agent Coulson to return with a rather comfortable looking rolling chair. "I don't think whoever I stole this from should miss it anytime soon..." He still looked a little uncomfortable despite this comment.

"Whose chair is it?" I asked.

"Well, Santa hardly ever comes here, but he demands to have an office available anyway." The agent made a joke!

"I get the Director's chair? Sweet! I hope he doesn't get furious." I giggled at my own joke, but Agent Coulson simply shook his head and move the chair from behind the desk so it was facing me. So, his outward expression of humor only went so far.

"Now, what was that phone call about?" I sighed and tried to organize my thoughts.

"My mom is a computer genius who did something so that I went from a reality where you were just movies, to where you now are real people." I did try to keep the pride out of my voice, but my mother had done the impossible. The impossible!

"Your mother?" he asked.

"Yes. Her reasoning is, why have a normal life when you can have an extraordinary one?" Which normally would be good advice, but this was definitely on the extraordinary side of the scale of extraordinary.

"She does realize this is a very dangerous reality in which you could die?" Death. It haunted my steps anyway. I turned my head to gaze out the window before I replied.

"Very much so." There was silence in the room for a moment.

"So then, you don't have a good relationship with your mother?" A strangled laugh passed my lips as I realized how my comment could be taken. Looking back at Agent Coulson I made sure I my meaning was very clear.

"The opposite. I mean the world to her, and her to me. We only have each other. That's why she did this." There was a pause, and then Agent Coulson switched topics probably very confused.

"Such technology is dangerous. SHIELD will have to find it and confiscate it." I simply shook my head at him, trying once again to keep the pride of my brilliant mother out of my voice.

"She took it back to our reality and is going to destroy it. She knows its dangerous. Too dangerous for this reality."

"She left as well?" Nodding, I let a few more tears fall before whipping them away. My mother was a kind woman as well as brilliant. She only would have done this with the assurance it was the best for me. I was here, and I was going to make the best of it.

"Back to our earlier line of questioning; has anything happened in New Mexico recently?"

"I'm sure a lot of things have happened." I simply looked at him. Humor again? "Something unusual happened there about a year ago."

"Involving a hammer?" He nodded. I began reviewing everything I knew.

"If Thor has made his appearance, and its been a year..." I heard somewhere that Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor had all happened in the same week. In the movie Doctor Banner has mentioned something about not being Hulked out for a year..."So that means everything is set in motion for the last movie to begin."

"I'm guessing that means something very bad is going to happen." I winced for he was correct. He sighed.

"Can you warn us?" I gazed out the window preparing.

"Right now, the movie has a happy ending. Bad guy is captured and only one side member gets killed. Since the killing can easily be stopped, I would prefer to keep everything else as smooth as possible. Trying to prevent certain events from happening now will only make it unpredictable in the future."

"A very reasonable conclusion, and one that I agree with. However, whenever there is enough drama and action for the movie, I'm sure there are some casualties. Can we try to prevent them?" I nodded quickly and tried to think of what information I could divulge.

"If you get sent to the Tesseract because it is acting up, you need to send as many scientists as you can away from the building."

"The Tesseract? That's what is going to be causing problems?" Huh, he was right. I hadn't thought about it that way. Usually everyone just blamed Loki.

"You have something that is the most powerful thing in the world, there are going to be problems." Agent Coulson didn't dignify that with a response.

"What do you mean acting up?"

"Well, Director Fury, you, and Agent Hill all go and check up on it. I figure that's got to be a big indicator." He nodded.

"You mentioned that Tony lights up his tower near the beginning of the movie. Is that before or act the Tesseract?"

"After, by like a day. Its night and you ask Mr Stark to be ready the next day, so I would imagine not very much time had passed."

"Alright then, I'll call Miss Potts and ask her when Tony is planning on lighting his tower."

"You do realize he probably will just do it spur of the moment?" I got something that might have been construed as a snort from anyone else from Agent Coulson.

"I know, but I can try." He raised his phone to his ear and walked till he was in front of the window. "Miss Potts? This is Agent Coulson." Pause. "Yes, I was just wondering if Tony had a schedule for turning on his tower." Another, longer pause. "Congratulations. Tomorrow night? Alright then, thanks for that information." Agent Coulson was turning toward me when his phone rang. "Director?" There was a rather lengthy pause in which Agent Coulson's face became very worried. "Yes sir. Do you think an evacuation might be a good precaution?" Another rather long pause. "Alright sir. See you tomorrow, sir." He came back to his chair and sat down face in his hands. I gave him a moment before speaking.

"So events are already in motion. I really need to think about what I can tell you." His head came up and his eyes looked straight into mine.

"Don't tell me anything you don't want SHIELD to know. Its my job to give as much information as I have." I nodded. Hawkeye's fate was what was really bothering me at the moment. "Also, I will have to find a place for you when I go. I shouldn't have had you check out of that hotel." Get to a new place of safety, and then I can think. Alright.

"I don't know about sleeping arrangements, but if you think I need some kind of babysitter I'm sure Steve Rodgers would like some company."

"You think?" He sounded doubtful.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but he only came out of the ice a couple weeks ago, right?" He nodded. "So a couple weeks ago he was in the middle of World War Two, and now everyone is gone and the world is at relative peace. He might still be adjusting a little." He looked contemplative.

"Are you willing to be official with SHIELD?" My eyes narrowed, but I squashed my suspicions. Agent Coulson has been trustworthy up until now.

"How official?"

"It would just be easier to get housing, especially close to the Captain, and you probably want a fairly active role in the next few days." I nodded. "How official is definitely the question though. What is your major?" I looked at him.

"You know I am still in college, but you don't know my major. SHIELD info is slipping."

"As I mentioned before, I didn't think this would come to anything. I just skimmed the basics."

"Alright slacker, I'm a nursing major." He turned toward the window, lost in thought.

"Did you take some psychiatry classes?"

"Yes, but just in application in nursing. No where near what is needed for a psychiatrist."

"No, but I could stretch it so it could explain why you were at headquarters and why you know so much." I could probably deal with most of the Avengers, but anyone else on the helicarrier probably had ghosts and nightmares I couldn't imagine.

"This might be my rattled brain speaking, but perhaps we should tell the Director what I know. That way if I make suggestions they would be more likely to be followed. I wouldn't have to pretend at something then and get myself into lots of trouble. That is, only if you could keep me out an interrogation cell." Another chuckle from the agent; was it sad if I thought this might be the most he had laughed in the last month combined? At least?

"Honesty in this case might just be the right policy. I warn you though, the Director will use whatever information you give him and will constantly want more." I realized this.

"I'm more worried about him being mad for not stopping certain events, especially the ones I haven't decided what to do about." In a moment of weakness, Agent Coulson allowed a hand to run over his face.

"Those are the ones I am worried about as well. I can justify letting certain events happening so we know how to fix things, but those gray areas are the hardest."

"I will try to prevent as much pain as possible, but..." Drat, it was going to be necessary for Agent Barton to go under Loki control so he could escape from the helicarrier. Without an escape plan, Loki would be truly unpredictable. Why had my subconscious have to come to this conclusion right now? "Do not under any circumstance let Agent Romanova know I know the future. Angering her is necessary. I promise. I do value my life." This time I was the one running my hand over my face, and Agent Coulson was looking over at me concerned.

"And why is angering her necessary?" I really had to phrase this carefully.

"Agent Barton must be at the Tesseract tomorrow, but know his death would be prevented if it was to happen." Agent Coulson simply nodded and continued to stare out the window.

Now that Agent Barton's fate had been decided, I thought about any other gray areas there might be. I could definitely help with getting Doctor Banner to the helicarrier. That could definitely go smoother. Less arguing between the group could never hurt. Loki, could I help him? Would it actually change anything? Thankfully, I couldn't think of any big decisions. Other than how in the world was I going to get an Agent of SHIELD to believe that trying to stop Loki was futile and his death wasn't necessary. Especially since there was no way I could get out of telling him it united the group and he would then deem his death necessary. Men!

"Well, delaying the call to the Director will mean he simply will be more busy and therefore more agitated." I nodded. It was time to reveal myself to Director Fury.

* * *

**Alright! So this chapter was had a little less life because I had to get through the reality of the situation. However, I believe the call to Director Fury should be humerous and we will meet the Captian as well.**


	6. Informing

The decreased light coming from the windows was completely removed as Agent Coulson closed the curtain. I flipped the light switch on as he began booting up his computer.

delete

"So how are we explaining this."

Is waking up one day with the information in my head too weird?" Another snort. Score for me! He paused a moment before answering.

"You know what? We aren't going to tell him you know the future. You simply know a lot about certain people." As I nodded, he began dialing his phone. "Director Fury. This is Agent Coulson. We've got a friendly code white. You are about to call, so I'll hang up." He then began typing what I would guess were security passwords into the computer. I stayed on the other side of the desk so the agent wouldn't think I was spying.

"What do you mean, he's about to call you?" He replied without looking up.

"His phone is monitored for key words. He wouldn't want to miss an important phone call. Code white is usually pretty important, unless an attack of some sort is going on. If it applied to the attack I would have included more key words."

"Neat. However, he won't listen to the whole message though, will he? He won't hear the friendly description of code white?" Agent Coulson shrugged.

"Probably not." The phone rang. Agent Coulson snatched it up and immediately began talking. "Friendly code white, Director. Friendly." I tried not to giggle. A fearful, stressed Fury was not someone to mess with.

"How in the world could a code white be friendly?" Startled by the return voice, I realized Agent Coulson had turned the phone to speaker phone.

"An unintentional one."

"How is hacking into our intelligence systems unintentional?"

"No hacking. Code white is usually related to some kind of leak or hack, but in this case she simply knows more than she should."

"If there is no leak or hack, how could she know too much?". Looking at Agent Coulson, I point at myself telling him I will answer before moving so I was closer to the phone which was right in front of the computer. My crazy imagination had come up with a explanation.

"Director Fury. I have had strange dreams for the past week about a certain group of men." Listening to myself I realized that line could be taken a lot of different ways. While kicking myself, I plowed on. "I saw certain, defining moments in their lives play out like a movie. I know things about their story that no one could know unless they were there. I want to help these men. I mean them no harm. They are superheros, sir, and I know my knowledge is dangerous. That is why I am cooperating." Silence resonated from the other line of the phone.

"Agent Coulson, who was that speaking?"

"The woman I called code white on," Agent Coulson replied.

"And why was she allowed to speak?" Oh my goodness, Agent Coulson could lift only one eyebrow! I've always wanted to be able to do that.

"Because I am convinced she knows what she says she does. She knew about Captain America, Thor, and even the Tesseract. She knows Stark was previously being poisoned by the arc reactor. Very few people know that much information, or even one piece of that." It felt good to have Agent Coulson's backing. I actually started feeling a little sorry for the Director, though. This was a lot of information to take in, especially with its implications.

"She wants to help us?" The Director sounded a little incredulous. However, no one way was I just going to stand here while he was talking about me without putting my two cents in.

"_She_ knows some things that you don't. _She_ watched it, not just read a summary report. _She_ is a true American and loves freedom, which is what those men as well as you protect. This might surprise you, but I have never had dreams of world domination."

"But you have had dreams about the lives of heroes," stated the Director.

"But not the kind of dreams most women would be having." I belatedly realized the Director had simply been trying to comprehend the facts. My quick, defensive retort was met with a laugh.

"Mr Stark will be disappointed."

"Mr Stark has Miss Potts and, while he has a history, he better be staying faithful to her." There was a slight pause.

"You believe he can change?" asked the Director.

"I believe he already has." Suddenly the computer screen was filled with Director Fury's face. It was in thinking mode, a rather dangerous mode, staring right at me. For several long moments, I stared back at the Director. Then I again stated, "I want to help." The Director nodded.

"So you know about Tony Stark, Captain America, Thor, and who else?"

"Those are the main people. I know a little about Doctor Banner, Agent Barton, and Agent Romanoff as well. Oh, I do know why you are tracking Doctor Banner." I mutter the next bit much more quietly, "Even if he does better when left alone." He didn't deserve having to isolate himself, but he definitely didn't deserve being considered dangerous and tracked everywhere he went.

"That is quite a bit of information. How could you simply dreamed it?"

"Director, there was more involved but there is no possibility of this repeating or even getting into other hands. If you want to be able to sleep at night, just trust me." I gave Agent Coulson a smile, thanking him for backing me up.

"Is she a Mutant? You know I don't have a problem with Mutants." Oh dear. Of course, Professor Xavier, the X-men, and the mutants were all part of the Marvel universe. There were a couple things I would like to say to certain government people about that. One movie at a time though; my brain was already about to explode.

"No, not as far as I know." Agent Coulson looked at me, silently asking me to confirm.

"No _extra_ genetic mutations. Everyone has mutations-that is what makes us individuals." Surprisingly, Director Fury made a weird sound in his throat.

"Where did you pick this girl up, Coulson? This is refreshing. Normally I'm fighting against the religious conservatives..." Director Fury stopped speaking as I began to cut him off.

"No hating on religion when I'm around." Director Fury was silent for a moment.

"Rachel Christenson, you are an astounding woman. Always stand up for what you believe in." I felt like blushing at the small amount of respect that was in his voice.

"Even if it means going against you?" I respected Director Fury quite a bit, and I hoped that we wouldn't have too many political arguments, but getting information from me was going to be his highest priority and keeping certain bits of that information from him was going to be mine.

"Even then."

"Good. So when you ask for information and I tell you no, I now have your permission to stand my ground." Director Fury's eyes darkened.

"I was expecting that to turn against me at some point, but not so soon."

"The future is a delicate thing, Director Fury. Who knows what could change with too much information?"

"The future?"

"Just a little." No fair! The Director could lift only one eyebrow too! Interestingly, it was the one above the eye patch.

"Well then. What do you want?"

"To help. And to do that, I need to be on the helicarrier for the next little while."

"We'll have to do a background check."

"Like you haven't already. I did notice you used my name but no one told you it. You have my formal permission."

"Thank you. You check out for now. However, since something has come up, I won't be at the helicarrier much of tomorrow."

"You need Agent Coulson as well, right? And I need a 'babysitter,' so I suggested Captain Rodgers since he already knows about me and he probably needs a bit of company."

"I can't leave just the two of you alone."

"If you are worried about me, I am positive that Captain Rodgers is completely chivalrous."

"How many people use the word chivalrous anymore?"

"Blame Twilight. It was a phase. Oh my..." I quickly shut my mouth. I could have been sent to Twilight! NOOOOOOOO! I mean, Alice is cool, and I like the variety of characterization in the Cullen family, but NOOOOO!

"What is Twilight?"

"A book and movie series that is one hundred percent fiction. And that is final." Of course, Agent Coulson and Director Fury were looking at me a little weird.

"I'm worried about not so nice people finding you."

"Finding out about us, you mean."

"I meant what I said."Mental note, Director Fury does not like to be corrected.

"I am certain that Captain Rodgers could take care of anyone who was a problem. He is only a couple weeks out of a war, you know. His mind is completely ready for war-fare, poor guy." Yet for the entire movie, no one seemed to realize this. Yes, Tony made jokes about it, but I don't think he realized how small amount of time transpired between Captain coming out of the ice and the Avengers assembling.

"I'd rather no one to know about Captain Rodgers quite yet."

"That's what I said. You don't want anyone finding out about us." Point for Rachel. "I'm fine with agents at any exits to the building where we are. Can't say the same for Captain Rodgers."

"I wasn't asking your permission. I was stating the facts." Frustrated Fury equals point two for Rachel. Really shouldn't push it though.

"And I am agreeing to whatever facts there maybe." Director Fury simply turned his head to look at Agent Coulson.

"Take her to see the Captain, Agent Coulson. He has that entire complex all to himself anyway."

"Yes Director."

"Is that my chair?" Suddenly Agent Coulson's knee hit the power button for the computer. Amusingly, a safety protocol of shutting down really fast seemed to be in place for the computer.

"No, its Santa's." I retorted to the now blank screen.

"Careful, he might still be able to hack into the camera."

"So your not even going to fake an oops?"

"No, our meeting was over." I decided I liked Agent Coulson, and so a plan began to form in my mind on how to save his life.


	7. Indubitable

However, when thinking about how to save Coulson, I realized I had to decide how the rest of the movie was going to play out. I had decided to let Clint Barton be taken by Loki, but did he really need to be? If it was just Loki, it would be easier to stick to the movie plot, but would still be fairly easy whenever he came around to beat. One man against five; I wonder who is going to win. But it wasn't just Loki. There was an army. An army that could only be taken out with a nuclear warhead to the mothership. There was the option of stopping the portal from being able to open. That would be easy enough. Keeping Eric Selvig from the building or protecting the iridium would be two options. But once again it wasn't just an army. Darn Marvel writers. Why did you have to make things so complicated? Oh yeah. Because it makes a great sequel. Arrrrggg!

I only let my frustration show by running my hand over my face. We have arrived at the building where Steve Rodger, and now me, were going to stay. Agent Coulson clarified that the cube had begun reacting strangely without any provocation. I told him he had four hours to clear the building and that I would call him to let him know who had to be in the room at that point. Who would be in that room was very important, but I was still figuring it out. Just because I now believed the avengers were real didn't mean I knew how much of the story I wanted to change. I did however warn Coulson that Phase 2 wouldn't be welcomed warmly by several influential people.

I didn't unpack when I got to my room, having been escorted there by another member of SHIELD. I knew we would be leaving for the helicarrier in the morning. I sat on my bed and continued to make life-changing decisions for a group of powerful men.

Thanos. Everyone was soon to be worrying about Loki, but unfortunately he was only a convenient henchperson for Thanos. I had to make it as hard as possible for him whenever he decided to attack, which meant we couldn't skip the portal opening. However, it didn't mean that the army had to travel through it. A bright beam of hope that no one would be killed in New York by the alien army come into being. Of course, I still had to convince Fury to let me have a nuclear bomb. The council seemed a little bomb happy; maybe if I got an audience with them-but them I would have to sic the avengers on them for being bomb happy. I definitely needed to present it as a careful plan aimed at the enemy with no civilian casualties.

My happiness multiplied as I realized I had plans to overt the two biggest cases of death. Very carefully I began to hope that perhaps no one would have to die. I started the movie reel in my head and started from the beginning. Coulson leading Fury and Hill to the Cube where Eric Selvig and Clint were. Those people and one other were the only ones to leave alive. The army men were not needed. The extra scientists were not needed. They could live. Did I still want them there? After careful thinking, I decided yes. If I could avoid death by knowing the future, I had to let Selvig and Clint get taken.

Fast forward through the introductions, and then we had Germany. The two guarding the iridium could be moved if I had gotten permission to nuke bomb the enemy. No death. While I didn't know if the man whose eyeball was taken died, or even if the eyeball was actually taken out or just painfully scanned, if he wasn't at the party and the iridium lab was mysteriously left open...would Clint still take it or would it smell funny? Maybe SHIELD could come up with a better plan. In Germany, the only other person actually hurt would be whoever was in the police car which Loki hurt. They probably hadn't died, but SHIELD might be able to delay the police just long enough that they didn't get hurt. Tahdah! No death. In fact, juggling the availability of iridium might be the hardest part.

Ummm, Loki's breakout. No, that would be harder. The iridium had to get back to Selvig, but Loki did not necessarily escape. However, if Clint was allowed to steal the iridium to take it back to base, he would still launch a rescue mission. Even if Clint didn't go back to base, a rescue mission would probably be launched. Better stick with the one that could be planned for. In the movie, there was the distinct knowledge about the plane with Clint and his buddies on it, but not that they were hostile. If the sighting of the plane could be responded by pulling all personnel from the whooshy, propeller, thingabobs. That was technical Rachel, I told myself. 'Wings?' Whatever the thing Clint bombed was called. If I was able to get Banner out of the lab when the bomb hit, and therefore not having him Hulk out, I could get Natasha do 'cognitive recalibration' on Clint much quicker. Maybe even get her to recalibrate the whole plane before they did any more damage. Would Loki still escape then? It didn't really matter. Shield would still have the scepter and Selvig would still have set up the portal. Insert bomb and presto! No death. In the entire movie. Or at least that I knew of. And...yes! Coulson wouldn't need to sacrifice himself if he knew a plan was in place. Whose the woman? Whose the woman? I may have begun pacing in my room whispering similar phrases softly. Or the complete opposite of that.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?" Pausing, I looked at the bedroom door from where the voice had come from. Opening the door, I found myself face to face with Captain America, and I had no idea what to say.

"Uh, yeah. Just solved a puzzle and needed to do a little victory dance. Sorry." Captain looked at my slightly blushing face for a moment before he lite up.

"You are the girl from the park, right?" I nodded before holding my hand out to shake.

"I am Rachel Christenson." He shook my hand with firmness but it didn't hurt at all.

"Steve Rodgers." I smiled at him.

"There is a captain in there somewhere, right?" He looked a little uneasy. I shook my head in amusement at his humility. It was refreshing though. "Military distinction is something of pride. My grandpa always refers to the leader of the revolutionary war as General George Washington. It's a sign of respect and admiration."

"I'm being compared to George Washington?"

"A man who inspired hope in a near-hopeless war while building patriotic spirit. Sounds about right for both of you." Steve looked ridiculously embarrassed at my statement. "Anyway, just because that battle is over doesn't mean the world doesn't need heroes anymore. Take Mr. Stark for instance."

"Stark?" Oh yeah. He knew Tony's father.

"Tony Stark. Son of Howard Stark. Built a suit of metal that he can fly in and fight. He calls himself Iron Man and has a new tower in the middle of New York City now."

"The big, ugly thing?"

"People thought the twin towers were ugly." Wait, when were those built? Oops; way after Captain America. The Empire State building was built early sixties, and they were after. "Sorry. What I mean to say is that people can change their minds. You're just getting used to seeing skyscrapers at all."

"Yeah. Things were a little different back in my day." I looked at him sadly.

"If it makes you feel better, things have really changed in the last ten years or so. Most of the grandparent age people have a really hard time with technology. You are young enough to be able to catch up. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have though." He looked at me puzzled for a while.

"I might have to take you up on that sometime, Miss Rachel. I was heading down to the gym for right now."

"That's alright. I've got a phone call to make." Thinking about why he was going to the gym, I called out, "Captain Rodgers? I mean, can I call you Captain Rodgers? I know I talked about it earlier, but I want to be respectful while making you comfortable." When he turned back to me, he had a small smile on him lips.

"Captain Rodgers is just fine." Realizing he wasn't going to say anything else, I talked on.

"I just want you to know, you are not the only one coming back from a war. There had been...conflict in the middle east for several years now. The soldiers come home and think about their lost comrades and blame themselves or dream they are still in the war. My grandpa told me one time about how when he came back from Vietnam, he heard a jet plane and thought it was a bomb coming to get him. He was on a probably crowded university campus and he 'hit the dirt.' They call it Post Tramatic Stress Disorder now. Its had lots of names. Know you are not alone." I didn't have any idea how to care for a war-torn soldier. However, I could assure him he was not the only one suffering. That there were people going through almost the same thing. I noticed Steve was still staring at me.

"How do you know exactly what to say?" I chuckled softly and shook my head.

"I don't really. However, I know you a little bit better than most. Thing about me is, I don't see the solider; I see the same man who wanted so desperately wanted to be a soldier in World War Two be haunted by what he has seen. Not only that, when your fighting ended, you didn't get to go home; you landed in a scary place with no idea what was going on." I chuckled a little again. "I can relate to that feeling a little. I see your pain and loneliness and try to contemplate a small fraction of it-and then run away from the thought of war." There was a long pause after I had spoken.

"Thank you, Rachel."

"I try," I replied, shaking my head. I knew he was thinking about it already, bringing it up didn't help though. I had not idea what he had been through, or what he now was going through, and I didn't really want to.

Steve continued down the hallway while I ducked back into my room. I had a plan to start implementing.


	8. Inapproachable

Once back inside my room, I used my phone to call the number Coulson had programmed in.

"Agent Coulson?

"I am listening."

"I have a plan now; its title is 'No One Dies.' Like it so far?"

"A bold plan for sure. Do you really think you can pull it off?"

"Well, 'No One Who That I Know Of Dies' is a little less awesome of a title, but I think I can stay away from 'No One But That One Guy.' It depends if Director Fury will cooperate or not. It basically hinges on either the Director actually trusting me or the Council being push overs. Unfortunately, I think the second one is easier and more likely to happen, but I really wish this was not the case. All the other stuff I think I could get you to very minorly go behind the Director's back to give some warnings." Having a plan made me so much more cheerful.

"So within the plan there are back up plans? That's comforting." Of course, Coulson was still all business.

"Yes, so that means the things I ask you to do are very carefully planned, even if they seem random or dangerous. You will probably have questions at the end of all this, and I'll be happy to answer them then."

"Alright then. What do you need?"

"I need Agent Barton and Eric Selvig near the Tesseract." I debated internally whether the third guy was needed or not. Probably better to stay true to the movie. "How easy is it for you to know who would be in the Tesseract room without my instructions? There would have been a evacuation going on, just not as early as the one I instigated."

"The procedure is very clear."

"Then who would have been in a suit with a name badge-not a scientist or a soldier. Looked more like a body guard or something."

"There are a couple of people you could be talking about."

"Blonde, right next to the Tesseract, I could recognize a picture." After a moment my phone starting ringing its text sound over and over.

"Check through those." I carefully went over each picture. There were female ones as well since I hadn't specified the gender.

"Alright, the third picture which is between the picture of Agent Barton and a woman." I double checked on the picture two to the other side of the Clint picture; thankfully it wasn't another woman. "I need him near the Tesseract, also. Director Fury can be in there if he wants but try to encourage him to not attack until attacked. I'm removing a lot of people from that room, so I don't know how things are actually going to play out." Why did saving lives have to be so darn complicated?

"Wouldn't it be better to leave them in?"

"That would go against the plan." Brilliant Coulson understood what I was implying, if his sigh was anything to go by. "Have the Director's helicopter nearby as well as a jeep underground. Everyone else needs to be at least a couple miles away. I promise everything that happens is according to plan. If I could stop everything from happening right there, right then, I would, but things are bigger than they first appear."

"I understand. Just tell me this. Where is your first priority in this plan?"

"Putting the people of earth at minimal risk. Short term wise it would all end tonight. Long term, there are a couple things I need to manipulate to pull that off." He wouldn't understand now, but the risk of a couple people getting hurt and having an entire army of Chitauri able to fight along with whatever else Thanos had would be more detrimental later on.

"Thank you for making that distinction," Coulson told me solemnly.

"Think you could help me pull this off?"

"I think I can."

"See you on the helicarrier tomorrow then."

"Wait." I suddenly realized the recruitment of the Avengers would be happening shortly after these events took place. Everything was happening so fast. "Later on tonight, you are going to be rounding up some important people. I want to help Agent Romanoff with Doctor Banner." Sleep. When was I ever going to sleep though? The things I do for other people.

"What do you know about Doctor Banner?"

"I know perfectly well about his alter ego created from gamma radiation while trying to duplicate the super-soldier serum. Anything else you need to know?"

"You do realize he is dangerous?"

"I realize that Agent Romanoff knows that the alter ego is just about the only thing that can physically kill her. What she doesn't realize is that a year on his own has made Doctor Banner very capable in keeping _him_ under control. She will be trigger happy and a military presence is highly unnecessary."

"Since you're a civilian, it is necessary to protect you.Agent Romanoff has to be in charge of the team."

"As long as you tell her I am an expert on Doctor Banner, which I am the closest of anyone to being, she will probably like any suggestions I give her."

"I can do that, but nothing more. And you won't be able to approach Doctor Banner withoutan armed escort. It's standard civilian protocol."

"I'll be able to talk to him on the helicarrier though, right?" I grinned a little at the heavy sigh Coulson gave me.

"Yes, you will be able to meet Doctor Banner on the helicarrier, even on the plane ride over. Who said you wouldn't be able to talk to the Doctor while picking him up though?" I could practically see a sneaky grin on Coulson's face.

"I like you, Agent Coulson. Not that I didn't before. I'll make sure to make that distinction to Agent Romanoff and figure out a plan."

"Anything else?" I thought over all the events that were supposed to take place tonight.

"No, everything else can wait until we are all on the helicarrier."

"Goodnight then, Rachel. I'll send an agent to collect you when it's time to visit Doctor Banner."

"Stay safe, Agent Coulson." After hanging up the phone, I climbed into bed to get as much rest as I could. It was going to be a long time before I got any more, as far as I could tell.

After a few miniscule hours, I was awoken by a knock on my door. Sighing at the unfairness of it all, I resigned myself to simply wake up. I sat up and removed all my blankets, shivering at the loss of warmth. Once I was out of bed, I usually stayed awake. Most of the time it was a blessing. I was debating about what it was today.

"I'm awake. Can you have someone take my suitcases to the helicarrier later, or should I bring them now?"

"You are surprisingly awake and thinking at this early hour." The unspoken 'for my age' was clear in the female agent's voice.

"Just don't tell me what time it is and I'll do fine. Don't expect me to look my best though. What's your verdict?"

"I'll make sure someone gets your stuff when Captain Rodgers is moved in the morning."

I debated about how worried I was about appearances. My lack of concern, in relation to normal college kids, went unappreciated by my mom who nagged me to do 'something' with my hair quite often. I snatched a large clip from my bag and used it to pull my hair back in a decent pony tail. Better.

"If that is the case, I am ready." I followed the agent to a car waiting outside. Knowing I was going to feel a little foolish either way, I asked, "Before I get in the car, can I have some proof you are with SHIELD and are taking me to the location I discussed with Agent Coulson earlier?"

"Agent Jones at your service." She whipped out her SHIELD badge, and I gave it a close inspection. "We are heading to India so you can assist Agent Romanoff in obtaining Doctor Banner's help." That was a lot of intel for someone to have stolen, especially Doctor Banners location, and thankfully I actually knew where Doctor Banner was supposed to be since Agent Coulson hadn't told me. "Alright then. Lead on."

I tried to dose a little in the car, but I knew it wasn't worth much toward actual rest. My mind also got busy on how exactly, if at all, I was going to change Banner's conversation with Natasha. It had gone pretty well; I basically wanted to just help Natasha not feel so uncomfortable and further reassure Banner that Hulk was not the only or real reason why SHIELD wanted him. Not that they admitted a controllable Hulk was on their Christmas list. An uncontrollable Hulk was on their dangerous list though.

On the plane, I was happy to find noise cancellation headphones and used those to get a couple more hours sleep. Since it was a private SHIELD plane, I was able to recline the seat to a nice angle. I had forgotten about being able to sleep on the actual plane ride. Depending on how fast the plane was, I might have gotten a decent amount of sleep. I didn't ask though. Guessing was better than knowing.

Once we touched down in India, I exited the plane to find armed menready and waiting for me. After greeting them, we got on a open air helicopter to fly to location. If I wasn't awake by that point, I certainly was after. I was pleasingly surprised to find out the team's only information about their assignment was to protect me. They wouldn't be so stressed if they knew exactly what danger they could possibly be protecting me from.

On location, I found Agent Romanoff waiting for me. Knowing what I knew, she looked pretty intimidating to me. However, my whole presence was to comfort her without letting her know I thought she needed comfort. Which she did, but she wasn't about to admit it.

"Agent Romanoff, my name is Rachel. I know a little bit more about Doctor Banner's personality than most, so I was called to give a hand, not that you need it. Since I am a civilian, I am 'letting' you lead most of it. I'll just be backup and keeping the armed men as calm and far away from Doctor Banner as possible. Any objections please let me know." I had the impression professionalism would be the best approach for Natasha, but I couldn't help the joke to help her realize that I was in no way in charge of anything on this mission.

"Why are you keeping them away? I thought the purpose of bringing them in was for them to be ready in case of emergency." Your way of thinking, Natasha, not mine.

"I don't believe the team is necessary. Doctor Banner has learned an amazing amount of control in over a year. However, my presence necessitates their protection from things other than Doctor Banner." Wait, that wasn't what they thought I needed protection from... "Or his alter ego." I also knew Natasha would be extremely uncomfortable without any backup and that the team would have no affect upon restraining the Hulk. "I am certain of your negotiating skills with Doctor Banner, Agent Romanoff, but I was wondering if I could inconvenience you with the ability to talk with Doctor Banner. I am not allowed near him before the situation is under control, but the whole point in me being here is to help get you to that point."

"That can be arranged. What was your last name?" There was the guise of politeness in the question, however I knew Natasha just wanted my full name so she could look it up.

"Rachel is just fine, however my last name is Christenson. You won't find much in SHIELD's files. I'm fairly new." Drat. Expect on Banner and new to SHIELD, that would cause red flags for her. "Agent Coulson trusts me, and Director Fury doesn't trust anyone." Which was going to be a very big future problem.

Natasha seemed to find that acceptable enough. I mean, I wouldn't know so much and be running around if I didn't have some kind of credibility. I was soon outfitted with an earpiece which could also pick up my voice so I could give directions to Natasha. Her phone would be used to broadcast the sound for when I needed to talk to Banner. Once everyone was in position, me quite a distance away and Natasha just behind the building so she couldn't be seen, Natasha called me over the comm.

"Doctor Banner should be here very soon. Any other information you would like to divulge?"

"Just advice; be completely truthful when he asks if you are alone. Gaining his trust is the most important part. Being dishonest will only cause future problems." I wished Fury would take this advice to mind as well.

"Here he comes."

It was very interesting to hear the real, live conversation going on inside the house. I had the conversation practically memorized from how many times I had watched the movie, and I let the pictures roll behind my eyes.

"Should have gotten paid up front, Banner."

"You know, for a man who is supposed to be avoiding stress, you sure pick a hell of a place to settle."

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret."

"What is it? Yoga?" I couldn't suppress a quiet chuckle.

"You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart. I, ah, assume the whole place is surrounded?" There was a slight pause as Natasha debated her answer.

"No, though there is a group of armed men nearby." Score one for Rachel. Thanks Natasha.

"And your actress buddy…is she a spy too? Do they start that young?"

"I did."

"Who are you?"

"Natasha Romanoff." Banner paused to compose an answer.

"Are you here to kill me, Miss Romanoff? Because that's not going to work out for everyone."

"No, no, of course not. I'm here on behalf of SHIELD." These dancing pauses just made things more stressful.

"SHIELD." A thoughtful pause, thankfully with less stress. "How did they find me?"

"We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance, even helping keep some other interested parties off your scent."

"Why?"

"Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now we need you to come in."

"What if I say no?" I always kind of admired Banner for his courage here. Not that with the Hulk he wasn't capable of resisting.

"I'll persuade you."

"And what if the…other guy says no?"

"You have been more than a year without incident; I don't think you want to break that streak." I considered this impressive as well. However, Hulk would be getting antsy by now.

"Well, I don't every time get what I want." Poor Banner.

"Doctor, we are facing a potential global catastrophe." It was a sad chuckle that Banner produced.

"Well those I actively try to avoid."

"This...," a mental image of Natasha pulling out her phone to show a picture of the Tesseract enters my mind, "is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet."

"What does Fury want me to do? Swallow it?"

"He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It admits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace. There is no one who knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that's where I'd be."

"So Fury isn't after the monster?"

"Not that he's told me."

"And he tells you everything?"

"Natasha," I tell her. "This is where I come in."

I barely hear even air pass over the comm, but it sounds a lot like, "Finally." I waited for the tell-tale beep that meant Natasha had set up her phone so my voice was on speaker.

"Of course the Director hasn't told her everything. To quote someone, he's a spy. He's THE spy. His secrets have secrets."

"Who is speaking?"

"Sorry, Doctor Banner. My name is Rachel Christenson, and I am super excited to meet you. Unfortunately my babysitters have me on a tight leash or I would be shaking your hand right now."

"Babysitters?

"Call themselves the king of SWAT teams. Really though, they are just the physical manifestations of everyone's insecurities. Guns make _everyone_ feel better." I really hopped Banner heard how sarcastic I was being, because I was laying it on a bit thick on that last line. Returning my voice to a serious tone, I continued, "They are officially my security detail, which makes me feel pretty important, and they don't even know who you are. In exchange, you aren't going to try to scare Agent Romanoff just to see what her reaction would be. It would be to draw her gun before she could even process that I told her specifically not to do so. So, ready to play with some science toys and find us a Tesseract?" There was a long pause.

"There is a group of armed men outside…"

"Yes, I made Agent Romanoff tell you so. She wanted to say it was just you two."

"And they are guarding you…because you're dangerous too?" I gave a hardy laugh.

"Well, knowledge is power. My sanity is in question, but nothing is dangerously abnormal about me. Unfortunately, it couldn't be just me and Agent Romanoff who came and get you, and we need you to be able to find the Tesseract."

"Only to find the Tesseract?" "Unless you volunteer for more."

"Deal."


	9. Incoming

As Natasha and Banner exited the small house, I couldn't keep the smile off my face at seeing the real, live Doctor Banner in _real_-well, relatively-life! I also finally processed that not only was I seeing THE Black Widow, but I had talked to her! And given her suggestions on how to do her job! How was I alive? I guess it was my knowledgeable, business attitude. If I wanted to maintain enough respect from her to have her consider my suggestions-come to think of it, part of it was probably fear of Hulk as well-I couldn't act frightened of her now. Once they got close enough to the group of guards I was surrounded by, I spoke.

"Agent Romanoff, since the man you are standing by has proven he is not a threat, could you give authorization to the boys with guns to let him through?"

It took a minute for Agent Romanoff to accept my statement, but it also meant she was taking it seriously. According to her, Doctor Banner was less of a threat than he was before. It was nice to know I had that affect on people.

"Doctor Banner is authorized to approach Ms Christenson." I winced a little at the formal nature of my name. I didn't miss the slight, slight exasperation in Natasha's tone though. Once Banner was close enough, I extended my hand to shake his.

"I am so excited to meet you, Doctor Banner. Call me Rachel."

"Then you should call me Bruce." I shook my head in chagrin at the similarities between Captain and Banner.

"I'd love to earn the familiarity of calling you by your first name, Doctor Banner, but since your intelligence is vastly more substantial than mine, I like showing my respect." Yes, I definitely was not the typical teenager while growing up. "If it helps at all, I had to give the same speech to Captain Rodgers."

"Captain Rodgers?" He looked like the name was familiar, but he wasn't sure from where. And with his record with the military, he was probably thinking it wasn't from a good place.

"Better known as Captain America?"

"Why are we talking about him?" For such a smart guy, I think I had confused Banner. Or maybe he was _thinking_ he had misheard me compare him to the good Captain.

"Because he tried to get me to call him Steve just like you asked me to call you Bruce and I told both of you I respected you too much to do so."

Bruce looked rather dazed as we climbed into the helicopter. Soon it was just me, Banner, and Natasha in the plane. I was getting settled in for sleep-I knew I would not be getting any for a while- while I reviewed the plan when I realized Loki was going to causing problems at basically the same time as we were going land on the helicarrier. People were going to be dead if I waited that long. I reached for my phone and was trying to find Coulson's number when Natasha spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to call Agent Coulson." I looked to see her reaction, and it was a little incredulous. "If you want to, you can speak to him first, or you could just look at the number." She simply stared at me, so I went back to finding the number.

"Agent Coulson here. What's wrong?" Why would he assume something was wrong? Right, because why else would I be calling? I kind of wanted to be sarcastic, but it was true.

"Can you give me some phrase so Agent Romanoff will trust me?" Coulson made an incredulous noise as I realized how poorly worded that was. "I meant trust that I'm actually talking to you and not like a terrorist organization." He took a moment to respond.

"I don't like Super Nanny." Chuckles rolled off me and I was silently shaking. It was obvious he had told her about his remark to Tony.

"Agent Coulson doesn't like Super Nanny," I choked out to Natasha.

I _thought_ I saw a small smile in the corner of her mouth, but there was no other reaction than moving somewhere else on the plane. Once I was as far away from both Natasha and Banner as possible, I continued speaking to Coulson.

"So things are going to be happening very quickly from now on. The rest of the information can wait until we are on the helicarrier, but some events are going to be happening too soon. I don't have specifics so bare with me as I try to give you as much information as possible."

"What am I doing with this information?"

"Saving people's lives."

"Alright, hit me." I was about to launch into information download mode when I realized I had one question first.

"Do you know who stole the cube?"

"Loki, from Asgard. He kind of announced himself." Evidence of low self-esteem exhibit A.

"Alright then. Loki is looking for a mineral called iridium. He's going to get it from somewhere in Germany, and yes, I do have more information, but its kind of roundabout. Somewhere in Germany-I know, very vague-there is an art museum on a street called King's Street, in German. There is a large gala being held there tonight, and the man hosting the event has access to a lab where the iridium is held. Also, the lab has an eye scanner. I'm pretty sure iridium is rare enough that that is enough information. Hopefully." There was a long pause as Coulson digested the flood of information that I had rambled at him.

"And what do you want me to do with this information?" Oops. Forget the important part.

"I need there to not be any guards at the lab and for Loki's henchmen to be able to break into the lab without them suspecting anything. Especially..." Crap, Natasha was in the plane and I was sure she would start listening if I said his name.

"Agent Barton?" Bless you, Coulson.

"Yes. The tricky part is..." well, Loki would be more comfortable knowing the iridium had been obtained, but I'm sure he had some kind of back up plan. And them not getting the iridium didn't mean they couldn't still rescue him. That was a convoluted thought grammatically. Grammar Nazi. And now my thoughts have drifted to Captain. Back on track Rachel! "Actually, not so tricky. Just make sure the guy who has access to the lab doesn't show up. And make sure the police aren't near the museum at all. Then we can send Captain Rodgers to pick Loki up."

"And Loki is going to just come quietly?" I pretended to ignore his incredulous tone.

"Well, relatively. He wouldn't want you to become too suspicious, would he?"

"So he had a plan to escape?"

"Yes. I want the escape plan to arrive, but not be successful."

"Agent Barton?" I loved Coulson. Brilliant man!

"Yes. At that point I can use my knowledge to make him uncompromised."

"So he became compromised to get the iridium. Why do you want Loki to have iridium?" This is when his brilliance becomes annoying. How was I going to explain it without causing more panic? I took the time I needed to sort my thoughts.

"Because Loki wants to open a portal to let in a large alien army." That was the best way to start I came up with? "I have a way to stop them so they won't be coming back another way. Since I know when and where Loki will have this portal, I can plan things like that."

"You will make sure no one gets hurt?" Good old Coulson, keeping the priorities. I really did appreciate his determination and single mindedness in this situation.

"I am working at 120% to make sure no one gets hurt."

"Good. I'll get on that then. You are so lucky Iridium is so rare." I let myself have a little chuckle.

"Well, that's what I am. A good luck charm. Not that you believe in such things."

"You'd be surprised how many SHIELD agents believe in luck."

"Not Director Fury, and I'd be surprised if you did. Not shocked, but surprised."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Tricky question.

"Not believing in luck is good because well...how to put this...you plan and take action thinking of whatever could go wrong. Its a very good thing for a man in your line of work."

"Are you sure you are not older than you look? No genetic manipulation?" Well, since technology wasn't that advanced were I used to come from, I was certain that wasn't the case.

"No, but I've always been told I act mature for my age."

"That I would believe," Coulson sincerely stated.

"Well, I'm in a plane with Agent Romanoff and Doctor Banner, so I'm going to talk with them, as long as you don't have anything else you need to tell me?"

"Just one thing. Rachel, I know you are doing your best to protect others, but don't forget to protect yourself as well. Especially since I know you know more than your saying." Had there been a pause before that last sentence? It had made his caution of my safety more of a protection of intelligence, but it had seemed very sincere.

"Will do, Agent Coulson." I waited till he hung up to do so myself, in case he still had more to say.


	10. Interactions

After hanging up the phone, I walked over to Doctor Banner.

"Sorry, I had an important phone call to make. Otherwise, I would have been over here earlier." I was normally a little shyer than I was acting right now, but I wasn't going to pass up a chance to talk to Doctor Banner. "How was life in India going before we abducted you?" Banner looked at me for a moment before answering while wringing his hands.

"It took a while to get used to not having so many conveniences, but I was pretty settled. I liked helping people." This was why Banner was so awesome.

"Helping people, best reason to be somewhere. I can't imagine ruffing it for more than two days max. I had fun camping with my family, but we only slept over one night. Not even 24 hours outdoors. And we used air mattresses. Pretty sure you haven't been cheating."

"Cheating?" He looked confused. I thought I had made my line of thinking clear.

"Having an air mattress or anything else that resembles modern standards of comfort." That got a chuckle out of him. However, he still wasn't comfortable talking to me. If I thought it was me in particular, I would have left him alone, but it seemed he was just uncomfortable talking to anyone. Tony would cure him of that quickly.

"No, no cheating for me. So you liked camping?"

"Yes! There was this park about an hour from my house that was perfect for camping. Not too far to drive, especially with a younger brother in the car," Revel in the memories, not morn, revel, "but far enough the city lights didn't pollute the sky too much. Just a little at the horizon. As youngsters, we would run around a lot. When we got older, me, my mom, and my brother would read in the fresh air after putting up the tent while waiting for Daddy to get there from work. We would make hamburgers and smores and just sit by the fire." Suddenly I realized I had put way more detail into that then Banner was probably interested in. "Sorry, got caught up in the memories. Had you ever 'roughed' it before you went to India?"

"No, never was a boyscout," was Banner's reply.

"You don't seem to be doing too bad." I gestured to his worn suit that had few holes or patches. I was sure in a couple more months it might not look as good, but for now...

"I picked by clothes for durability, not style."

"I say your still looking good." He seemed uncomfortable with my comments. It was nice to meet someone else who was humble. I knew I wouldn't be getting any humility from Tony. I debated on what to say next.

"Well, it was night when they picked me up, and I'm sure they'll want me to get straight to work when I get there, so I better go to sleep now." "Enjoy the lap of luxury Doctor Banner." He chuckled before shuffling off. Was it just my optimism, or was he less nervous acting now? I sat there a moment before Natasha walked over.

"So what were you talking to Agent Coulson about?"

"Under very unusual conditions, I have gained some intel that is going to be useful. However, for it to be useful, it can only be given at certain times. No one is threatening me, I just know that if I give up all the information, the decision would be taken out of my hands, and right now I know things that can't simply be given to someone else. Things I've seen. Things I can extrapolate from the information that others simply can't. Agent Coulson believes in me."

Natasha didn't deem me a reply. She probably hated being left out, but hopefully she trusted Agent Coulson's judgment enough. I closed my eyes and began a step by step plan of what was going to happen on the helicarrier. I was going to need to speak privately with the Director, and I hoped Coulson would be there to back me up. Once I felt like I had everything prepared, even up to sending Thor and Loki home, I let myself try to catch a little more sleep.

When we got near, Natasha woke both of us up and I loved watching the helicarrier as it got closer and closer. We landed and climbed out. Shortly afterward another plane landed and Captain stepped out with Agent Coulson. Natasha made her way over. I stayed with Banner. He was very twitchy and nervous, moving about quite a bit.

"Doctor Banner, its alright. They will tell you where you need to go. No need to worry."

"That's not what I'm worried about." I sighed trying to figure out a way to tell him he had nothing to fear without sounding crazy.

"I bet you a large sum of money that the other guy will not make an unexpected appearance on this helicarrier during this visit."

"So you do know about the other guy." I blinked a couple times trying to figure out how that had ever been in doubt. My reply was cut off by the sound of Captain's voice.

"Rachel! You're okay! You had me worried when you disappeared this morning. All your stuff was still in your room, but you were gone. The agents wouldn't tell me where you'd gone."

I suddenly felt bad for worrying Captain, but that was soon overwhelmed by the realization of the fact that he had worried about _me_ who he had just met. It was really sweet of him and raised my self-esteem. The fact that no one had told him I was safe, though, made me worry for several people's health, even if they were SHIELD agents.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I simply needed to speak to another member of the team." I had to quickly scramble for the adjective to use for team. I wasn't going to say 'our', I was not going to be fighting anything, and 'your' sounded like Captain was in charge, which he wasn't yet, so 'the' was the best option.

"Doctor Banner!" I smiled at Captain's enthusiasm.

"Oh, yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming. You know Rachel?"

"I've met her twice, both times were wonderful. Word is you can find the cube." Hey, I want you to not blush if called wonderful by Captain America.

"Is that the only word I'm in?"If I had it my way Banner, yes. "Only word I care about." One of the many reasons why Captain was awesome.

"Really wish I could just say dido, Doctor Banner, but would you believe me if I said I thought your alter ego was really awesome?" Not looking at the men beside me, I answered my own question. "Probably not."

"Rachel?" Turning to look at Natasha who had spoken, I caught sight Banner and Captain who had incredulous looks on their faces. It was a pleased incredulous though, kind of like…admiration? I had never had a guy look at me like that before, so I blushed. I was very glad I had an excuse to keep my eyes somewhere else, though Natasha simply waved away my gaze. Had she call out just so I would see their face? Enormous guilt for not protecting Clint washed over me. I was grateful when Banner started speaking.

"It must be strange for you, all of this."

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar." I was glad for Captain. I knew that this whole adventure had given him something to live for. Hopefully I could still give him that without having lives at stake. The same was true of Banner and his peace with his alter ego.

"Gentlemen, Rachel, you might want to step inside in a minute. Its going to get a little hard to breathe."

I followed the men toward the edge of the helicarrier and then heard the speakers blast out, "Flight crew secure the deck."

"Is this a submarine?"

"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?"

"No. Its not a submarine." Smiling at both men, I edged toward where I could see the turbines come up. It was much louder and larger standing right next to it that it appeared in the movie. I stayed a good distance away from the edge, unlike the men.

"No, no. This is much worse."

"Like I said Doctor Banner, I would bet a large sum of money we'll all be safe."

"Why?" Drat. I really hoped this question would not come up.

"Well, I'm sure SHIELD has taken every precaution to keep themselves safe. I'm certain a large amount of money is involved in this ship and so all kinds of weapons must be on board. I'm also confidant that Hulk won't come out and play until you tell him to. Ready to head inside? I'd rather not test what altitude it starts getting hard to breathe at."

I caught a glance of Banner's face when I said the words 'come out and play' and tried really hard not to laugh. I don't think anyone has been as carefree about the Hulk as I am.

Natasha led us into the helicarrier. As we entered the control room, all kinds of orders were shouted out and responded to. I watched in amazement as about thirty SHIELD agents coordinated getting this giant ship off the ocean. Even after seeing this scene several times in a movie, it was much more impressive in real life. I mean, in the movie they weren't flying anything in actuality.

I loved the moment when Fury told Hill, "Let's vanish." Almost as good as 'wingardium leviosa." What was even better was when Captain walked up to Fury and handed him a ten dollar bill. I already knew what dialogue was going to pass between Fury and Banner, so I walked over to Coulson.

"I think if I ever meet Tony I'll suggest a one way teleport system. It would save people a lot of time and effort."

"Why bring this up now?" he asked.

"I want to have a private chat with Director Fury, yet also need to travel with Captain Rodgers for diplomacy on the way back."

"Diplomacy with Loki?"

"No, with his older brother who will come to retrieve him. We don't need Mr Stark and Thor fighting each other, and the forest just doesn't deserve being destroyed." Any animosity I could dispel from the team would be so much better in the long run.

"I can see a couple trees toppled and a few others scorched, but destroyed?"

"Don't ever let Thor try out his hammer on Captain Rodger's shield with anyone or anything in a mile radius, at least."

"Impressive." I was hoping he was being sarcastic, but then again, men.

"Coulson, could you explain to Rodgers what we have been doing to find the Tesseract?"

I watched Natasha bend down to see how the search for Clint was going as Coulson obeyed Fury's orders.

"Since we can't trace gamma radiation, to find the Tesseract, we must find Loki. Certain intelligence tells us that he is looking for iridium, and the director of the lab where one of the largest deposit is stored is going to be here," a picture of the gala from the movie appeared and I subtly nodded to Coulson, "So we are simply waiting for Loki to show up."

"How do you know Loki is going after the director or even that particular lab?" Nice question, Captain. Too bad I don't want it answered properly.

"Iridium is rare, but we also received additional information on Loki's proposed attack."

"So you have a leak from inside?" Captain seemed impressed with SHIELD's skills.

"The source is anonymous at the moment, but it has proved itself as creditable..." Coulson continued speaking to Captain about searching the globe for any other signs of Loki or his unwilling henchmen while I quickly made my way over to Fury.

"Sir, I need to go with whoever you send to pick up Loki. Diplomacy will be key on the way back." Fury didn't respond immediately, and then we were interrupted by one of the men at the computers.

"We've found him. 68% match. Wait, cross reference, 79%. He's at the gala now."

"Captain, you're up." Fury waited till Captain had left to turn to me. "Now, diplomacy with who? You are not authorized to even speak with Loki." I kind of wished to speak with Loki, but later when he was in his cage. I figured I could argue the point later on though.

"Diplomacy with Loki means you beat him up. That same diplomacy with Thor simply results in a draw. I wish to prevent a fight between the group of people you have selected to defend us. Teamwork is a very important part of that success."

"What, is Tony going to show up and attack Captain Rodgers?" He was trying to be nonchalant, but I could see the worry in his face.

"No, Loki's brother, Thor, is going to show up and demand to take Loki. You can see how well that would turn out." Fury's thinking face is just plain scary.

"You said you knew a little of the future."

"Not much more than the next 24 hours, sir." The moment stretched on for a while. I figured Fury didn't like making decisions at the drop of a hat.

"Coulson, make sure she gets a secure communication device. I still need to speak with her." Fury left before I could thank him or get anything else in. At least I knew Fury had some trust of me. I was going to further that trust by telling him my entire plan.


	11. Intermediary

**So, special delivery for my special readers! This is the second chapter I posted today. Make sure you read the one before this!**

* * *

I made sure I knew how to work the device and that Fury was going to call me and not the other way around before the plane took off with Captain, Natasha, the pilot, and me. I didn't expect Fury to call very soon, so I started an actual conversation with Captain.

"If I didn't know better, I would say there was real irony in you going back to Germany."

"Hopefully it is a short visit."

"I'm sure it will be." However, any further conversation was cut off by a call from Fury on the tablet-like device I had been given. "Duty calls."

Apparently, the device had a special sound dampener so anyone outside about a foot radius from the device itself couldn't hear the tablet or anything else from within that bubble. It was to be used to make the conversation confidential.

"Bubble of silence activated and I have turned myself toward the back of the plane so no one can read my lips, Director Fury."

"You sure this one isn't a spy, Coulson? She takes orders too well to be a civilian." For a long, terrifying moment I had no idea how to respond.

"Director Fury, you are the leader of a secret government agency. I think staying on your good side is a good idea and following orders falls under that goal." I hoped my respectful tone did not betray any of my terror. It was much harder talking to him this time than last because this time I fully realized his reality and power. Before he was still simply the fictitious director of SHIELD. Now he was the man who had the power over my life and the fate of the world.

"Then speak whatever you needed to tell me." In one deep breathe I had collected my thoughts and reminded myself to be clear and to the point.

"When we arrive at Loki's location, Captain Rodgers will fight him. Once Mr Stark arrives though, Loki will surrender. Agent Barton has orders to rescue him and cause as much havok as possible on the helicarrier. Loki's 'play' is centered on the Hulk, so no need to send Agent Romanov to interrogate Loki for that information. Agent Barton will blow up the third turbine while aboard a ship that has the proper access codes but is not scheduled. Any of those on board who are under Loki's spell can be cured by being knocked unconscious. There will also be those there of their won free will. About ten people total I believe."

Okay, immediate series of events finished. Now to partially explain the big picture.

"Loki is at the gala because he wants iridium so he can open a portal so he can let in an alien army. This army has its own motives for attacking the earth, so if the portal doesn't open, they will find another way to get here. The aliens are of a hive mind, so a nuclear missile to their mothership will take them all out. Once Agent Barton gets the iridium to Erik Selvig, a portal will be made for us to send the nuke through. It will be on top of Stark tower just after Agent Barton attacks the helicarrier. Aliens will come swarming through as soon as it is opened, though."

"Loki sighted. He's got a large group of civilians trapped. One is trying to stand up to him."

"Here's were I come in. Can you hover over him?"As Captain dropped to protect the brave soul who had decided to stand up to Loki and deliver amazing lines, I wracked my brains for anything else Fury or Coulson needed to know.

"I don't think Loki can escape the prison without someone to open the door, but if he can, allow him to escape. He is just a simple pawn in a much larger game, and he won't be able to cause nearly as much damage just by himself. Send Thor after him if you must or if I could convince Doctor Banner to Hulk out, we could knock Loki unconscious." Hopefully that would forestall any acts of heroism by Coulson. "Oh, hide the scepter because that can close the portal once the nuke has been sent through." I allowed myself to be distracted by the sudden heavy metal music. Tony...A grin and a couple shakes of the head later I was quickly making sure there was nothing else I needed to say before Loki entered the plane. "It's probably best to not to let Loki see Doctor Banner..." Think, think, think, "I can explain Loki's motives better at a different time..." think, think, "I kind of mentioned that Thor will be joining us shortly, and I _think_ that is it. If anything else comes to mind I will let you know immediately. Loki's about to come on board now."

"You seem anxious to have this conversation over, Ms Christenson." I couldn't quite make out Fury's tone.

"Yes, even with the bubble of silence, I don't feel comfortable talking about all I know with Loki so close. His magic might even be able to penetrate it." The director simply gave a curt nod and cut the connection. What was he thinking? I had sounded kind of demanding and so sure that he would do what I told him to. I just hoped that as few people as possible got hurt in all of this.

As I walked to the front of the plane to give Natasha the communication device, Loki was escorted in. He was sat near the door and both Tony and Captain got as far away from him as possible. Once I dropped the device off , I began to walk back to sit where I had been, across from Loki. A hand on my arm stopped me.

"Rachel, where are you going?"

"To sit where I was before." I watched as Captain's eyes move to where I had previously sat and measured how close it was to the villain.

"Just because he surrendered doesn't make him not dangerous."

"Just because he's the villain doesn't make him evil. Anyway, the whole purpose of me being here requires that I sit by the door. Check with Director Fury or Agent Coulson if you don't believe me, Captain Rodgers." Sliding out of his grasp, I ignored Loki completely as I sat down and started to compose a speech that would hopefully prevent any fighting. Just as I was polishing it, a voice came over the ship's radio.

"Is he saying anything?"

"Not a word," Natasha reported to her superior.

"Just get him here. We are low on time." Such a dramatic Fury; you know events won't go in to motion until Loki is on the helicarrier.

"I don't like it."

"What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" For the younger people on the plane, what does that even mean Tony?  
"I don't remember it being that easy." Clever Captain.

"This guy packs a wallop." Which side was Natasha arguing for? She would hate if she was arguing for Tony.

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing, pilates?" Tony, you do realize Captain is younger than you, right?

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics? You might have missed a couple things..."

"Mr Stark! I didn't see you enter the plane earlier. It must have been the two handsome men you came it with who distracted me." It was humerus to see Captain blush and Loki even acted incredulous, though very subtly. The point of the comment was to prevent Captain hearing the word 'capsicle,' but their reactions were a very good added bonus. I couldn't bruise Tony's self-esteem so badly though. "Hearing my roommates rave about you all the time must have desensitized me to your own good looks." No one had time to respond to my comment as a huge roll of thunder was heard.

"Where's this coming from?" asked Natasha worriedly. Since he was still looking at me, Captain noticed Loki squirm.

"What's the matter? Are you scared of a little lightning?"

"I'm not overly fond of what follows." With the large bang coming from the ceiling, I stood up and tried not to think very much about what I was doing in fear I would freeze up in terror.

"Agent Romanov, would you please open the door so I can welcome our guest inside?" When Thor dropped, I jumped but tried to appear calm. "Thor, I am afraid that your brother Loki has surrendered himself. We ask that you honor this battlefield made contract and leave him. You may come with us if you wish to look after his care." I really hoped I had picked the right wording. I figured that as a warrior that surrendering was a matter of honor and contract and that Thor would hesitate to break that.

"My brother surrendered to you?" A laugh was evident in his tone.

"No, he surrendered to us." Captain gestured to himself and Tony beside him. After sizing them both up, Thor found my words more believable.

"Then I will come with you." Thor sat himself down and Natasha closed the door before continuing to fly to the helicarrier. An awkward silence descended upon all. I was planning on preparing a carefully worded meeting with Loki later on, but I decided to start breaking the ice now.

"Loki, you do understand that no one on earth knows what is real and what is false in the mythology about your people? We only know what you are telling us, and right now, what your telling us isn't good. Why couldn't you have made this a fresh start?" He seemed thunderstruck by my frankness and ability to look him straight in the eye. I turned to Thor before he could reply because my cool demeanor would have crumbled to pieces. "And Thor, realize that how you treat Loki is going to not only tell him what you think of him, but it is going to tell everyone else how to treat him. Nothing has changed has it?" I was greatly comforted by Thor's shake of his head. "Then don't act like it."

When Thor jumped up, pulled Loki to his feet, and hugged him yelling"Brother!", I felt like my face was going to split open from my grin. Take that, Loki's misconceived view that his brother couldn't love him! Sadly, we were landing on the helicarrier at this point. As soon as the door was open, a group of SHIELD agents tried to surround Loki, and Thor looked like he was going to attack all the poor fellas.

"Thor," I quickly began to explain, "They're here to escort Loki to his cell." It was relieving that Thor's mournful expression was so apparent; even Loki couldn't deny Thor was saddened by my comment.

"I understand." Thor reluctantly allowed his arms to drop. The SHIELD agents moved into formation and I had to look away as the maniac, in control mask slid over Loki's face. The loop he had been thrown for by Thor could not be seen in his manner or in his face anymore.

I quickly dashed out of the way as Tony powered up his suit and flew away. Obviously he was avoiding any orders from SHIELD.

"You alright?" Once again, Captain's concern caused me to be embarrassed.

"Perfectly. Mr Stark is not one for subtly, so I had plenty of time to move out of his way." The pause seemed to show that Captain was debating on how to respond.

"Loki didn't do anything to you, did he? I saw you look away quickly." Oh, poor Loki.

"I looked away because he was locking away all his emotions just when Thor had almost found his hope again. Seeing someone denying hope is...painful."

"Denying hope?" I debated on how to respond to Captain's confusion and incredulousness.

"Knowing someone's background can be vital to understanding motive. Loki's is...complicated, but from his point of view is perfectly justified. His father should beware my fist though."

"His father?"

"Practically everyone on this team has daddy issues. I believe everyone but you, except I don't really know anything about your parents." Coulson decided to make an appearance at that moment.

"Rachel, Captain, you are requested in the control room." I moved quickly to follow orders with Captain walking beside me.

When I passed Coulson I spoke, "Agent Coulson? Mr Stark may need some encouragement as well." He nodded curtly.

"First let me lead you to the control room; you'll get lost if I don't." I heartily agreed with the sentiment and followed cheerfully.

"If I could trouble you, what do you mean by daddy issues?" After shoving my amusement at Coulson's very subtle tensing away I answered Captain.

"I mean their father was not the ideal comforter, protector, and/or provider. Its becoming a lot more common these days, unfortunately. Mothers are becoming less focused on their children as well." It was depressing to think about.

"You speaking from personal experience, Rachel?"

"No, no. I was very, very lucky." My automatic response did not include the realization that Coulson was asking the question. How strange. I would have thought he would stay out of the conversation, or at least not asked such a personal question.

We entered the control room at this point and saw Natasha and Banner waiting.

"If you will look at the table, you can see the Director talking to Loki." Things were about to get very interesting.

* * *

**So partially I was lazy, and then I was moving because it was the end of the college school year, and then I moved somewhere for a summer job and we had no internet. So I've got chapter 12 and 13 written, and some snippets after that. I almost have the movie portion of this finished. Now I will get to play with the characters. **

**Important notice: I have edited some of the earlier chapters. I have changed both phone calls that she makes, completely removing the one from her mom. Also, her major is political science now, so speculate away.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING PATIENT AND SUPPORTIVE! I WILL UNDATE SOON!**


	12. Idiotic

Idiotic

Since I didn't want to sit next to Natasha and Banner wasn't sitting at all, I decided to sit next to Captain. I smiled as I watched Fury tell Loki, "Ant, boot," and "Tell me if power wants a magazine or something." Go Fury for not letting magic wielding maniacs get the better of him.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Oh, Banner, if only you understood.

"Loki's gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what's his play? " Straight to the point, eh Captain? Good for you.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard, nor any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the Earth, in return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army from outer space." Thor's answer was a little much for the poor Captain.

"So, he is building another portal. That's what he needs Eric Selvig for." Banner was smart.

"Selvig?" It was good of Thor to remember him, let alone his name.

"He is an astrophysicist." Neither Thor nor Captain knows what that means. I wouldn't if I hadn't seen the movie.

"He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some sort of spell, along with one of ours." Oh guilt, I have been missing thee.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him. He is not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him." An act Banner, a simple act.

"Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard. And he is my brother." Thor did so much good in that comment, but it would all be undone and then some with his next.

"Agent Romanov." I cut her off before she could tally the number of people Loki had killed. "Yes, he has done some horrible things. Every single life is precious. And, unfortunately in many ways, Loki is being completely logical. Just because you only know what has happened on Earth, does not mean he is beyond reason. Many things happened on Asgard just before he left. Not even you, Thor, know them all." I had been very calm up to that point; it was very important they understood all that I was saying. Now however, I stood and slightly hissed at Thor for the fact of the line that never was. "And don't you ever mention him as adopted, or use it as an excuse. _You_ only found out about it after he was gone. _He_ found out about it only a couple days before trying to commit suicide by falling into the void of space." I breathed a little heavily after my mini-rant. Belatedly, I realized Loki might not have liked the secret of his birth announced like that. Thor would have done it anyway, but that wasn't an excuse. This is why I tried to plan what I said. I dropped back into my chair and ran a hand over my face.

The silence was broken by Tony's voice making its way toward the control room.

"I'm just saying, pick a weekend. I'll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive." Having entered the room and realized all attention was on him, he then raised his voice to be heard by all and strode to the middle of the room. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the topsails. That man is playing Galaga. He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Covers his eye. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns."

"Sounds exhausting. Now, anyone know what Loki was doing?"

"He was creating a distraction so his lackies could obtain iridium." Why, why did I answer Tony's question? Hill knew just as much as I did and had authority. To everyone but Coulson and Fury I was a nobody with no leg to stand on. I blessed Banner for saving my hide.

"Iridium…What do they need Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent. Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." I tuned out as Tony explained scientific mumbo jumbo. "Something to," I loved the knuckle crack here, "kick start the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" I loved the meme that dissected Hill's tone here. However, I could only hear and remember condescension.

"Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" You're the only one who got the reading, Tony.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" I was impressed Captain had kept enough to ask that. I didn't even try as Banner spoke some science blah, blah, blah.

"Finally, someone who speaks English." I was trying mightily to stifle my giggles at Tony's ridiculousness.

"Is that what just happened?" I'd always found Captain's comment ironically funny but living it I became more sympathetic.

"Most of the world's population couldn't have followed what they were saying. It came out as 'science, blah, blah, I like sounding smart, science' to me," I whispered to Captain. Hopefully this meant he didn't hear Tony complement Banner because that would just put Tony and Captain off on the wrong foot.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him." Impressive entrance, Director.

"I'd start with that stick of his. It might be magical, but it looks an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." You don't know how right you are about that scepter's importance.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Oh dear. Fury was going to have some questions I couldn't answer.

"Monkeys? I do not understand." I'll talk to you later, Thor.

"I do!" I quickly tried to cover up Captain's awkward outburst.

"Don't diss flying monkeys that way! Elphie was just trying to help them." When every eye turned toward me I felt like shriveling up and dying. That was what my brain had come up with? Think before you speak. Think before you speak!

"Shall we play, Doctor?"

"This way sir." Everyone turned back to what they had been doing as Banner and Tony left the room.

"Rachel, follow me."

"Yes, Director Fury." He led me to a room empty of people. He remained standing, so so did I. He was silent and seemed to be waiting for me to speak, so I carefully constructed a response. "Director Fury, you have heard my recommendation. I have tried to tell you all the facts, but some of it is hard to say. Its implied or visual. If you have a better plan I will be happy to double check with what I know to make sure it will work. Or if you have any questions, I'll be happy to tell you what I know." Please don't ask about the scepter. Please, please. I simply don't know.

"Is there something you should be doing right now?" I thought through what was going on in the ship right now.

"I could be mediating Mr Stark, Doctor Banner, and Captain Rodger's discussion. Mr Stark has a tendency like mine to speak before he thinks." Fury made a noncommittal noise. I had another thought and greatly debated my answer. "I _think_ I would like to speak to Loki. I'm not 100% confident in that decision though. Being denied that would remove a lot of stress in my life."

"What do you hope to achieve with the discussion?" That was the great debate.

"Not so much a discussion as a speech. I would fail miserably with a discussion. I want to...maybe put some ideas in his head. Something he can ponder on when he gets back to Asgard."

"It would be dangerous to send you in there."

"I've told you basically everything I know about the future, and I won't be antagonizing him. If you order me not to visit him, then I will comply." There was a moment of silence and I wondered just what was going through the Director's mind.

"How exactly are you proposing we send the nuke through the portal?"

"If you set the coordinates to Stark Tower and then Mr Stark nudges the nuke to a more vertical flight pattern it should go through." There were several moments more of silence.

"The children who call themselves heroes will need supervision. Can I direct that task to you?"

"Yes sir." When he didn't say anything else for several moments, I left the room. Once I was in the hallway though, I didn't have any idea where to go.


	13. Imbalanced

Standing there in the empty corridor with no idea where to go, I decided to test a theory. After walking down a couple random hallways I began to speak to the open air.

"Jarvis? I would like to speak with you if at all possible." Drat. I should have warned the Director about Tony's hack job. There was nothing he could really have done to prevent it though.

"Yes, Ms Rachel?" I couldn't keep the goofy grin off my face at the reply.

"You are integrated with all the security around here, correct? Don't worry, I won't tell Director Fury." Though I really should.

"Yes I am." Tony and his machines were awesome.

"Could you direct me toward the lab where Mr Stark is at?"

"Most certainly." Many turns later I was standing next to an open door through which I could here voices I recognized. "You have reached your destination, Ms Rachel."

"Thank you, Jarvis." I tried to figure out what was going on inside before I entered.

"What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?" Tony got a shake of a head and an eye roll from me.

"Is everything a joke to you?" I decided to intervene here before it became a macho contest.

"No, Mr Stark just takes in upon himself to ease the tension in the entire ship. Of course, he doesn't realize this causes more stress for those around him. Except for Doctor Banner. I hope Mr Stark's attitude is refreshing for him."

"You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut. And who are you, pretty lady?" Pretty? Was he just trying to butter me up?

"You need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark," Captain commented before I could try to reply.

"Do you think I'm not?" Tony paused dramatically "Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables. Like you, Missy. Who are you?"

"I'm the neighborhood babysitter. Apparently your usual is too busy today, Mr. Stark." That was a really good retort!

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Captain asked to Tony's gobsmacked face. He was trying very hard to keep his own face blank. Tony had to shake himself a little and even offered me a blueberry before he replied.

"He's a spy. Captian, he's THE spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him, too. Isn't it?" Tony gestured to Banner as he spoke.

"Uh…I just want to finish my work here…" I really wanted to bail the Doctor out, but it was a pivotal moment for him.

"Doctor?" Looking expectant, everyone's eyes were on him as he took time to gather his thoughts and courage.

"A warm light for all mankind. Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube."

"I heard it."

"I think that was meant for you." Banner points at Tony who extends the blueberry packet to him this time. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"Stark Tower?" I did interrupt this line.

"The one skyscraper with the name 'Stark' labeled across it. You might have missed it looking at all the skyscrapers. You hadn't ever seen one before you woke up, had you?" As he shook his head, Tony tried to comment.

"Its what happens when you spend time as..." I figured the end to that line was not complementary so I sent my biggest glare at Tony. I was pleased to find he trailed off.

"A soldier overseas. Isn't that what you were going to say, Mr Stark? I'm sorry Doctor Banner, you were saying something?" He looked awkwardly between me and Tony and then continued with what he had been talking about before.

"Stark Tower. It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?"

"It's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at."

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

"I'm sorry. Did you say...?"

"Yes, Mr Stark has taken it upon himself to make sure SHIELD is not destroying any American liberties. Having a secretive government rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Mr Stark is just a more advanced government hacker. After President Nixon lied to the people, and even lied to cover up his lie, there hasn't been a lot of trust." I tried to explain that while Mr Stark was in some ways doing it for himself, that wanting to know what the government was doing was not a new concept.

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

"Blindly following orders is never the right answer. You should always know why and exactly what you are doing. Blindly following is what regimes want. And SHIELD does have dirty secrets that need to be outed." I turned to Tony. " If they know who shot President Kennedy, I expect to be informed." Speaking to the room at large, I continued, " Now I need to go speak with the other very smart man with self-esteem issues on this ship. Excuse me, gentlemen."

I exited the lab and began to debate with myself whether the Director had given me permission to visit Loki or not. The bigger problem was that I had to speak to Loki. I had prepared something of an outline on the flight to the helicarrier from India, so I double checked and reviewed it. No need to sound stupid in front of the Word Smith. Trying not to think too hard about what I was about to do- this was even more stupid and dangerous than standing between Thor and his brother- I called out to Jarvis for directions. Simply focusing on my speech helped me not to hyperventilate on the way to Loki's cell. I knew he could hurt me, but I did not fear him as god, simply as a sorcerer. I also knew if I showed even the slightest weakness, he would focus solely on exploiting it instead of listening to what I had to say, so I would have to hide my nervousness well.

The SHIELD agents who were guarding the door on the outside simply nodded at my presence and didn't hinder my movements. Talking several deep breathes, I held the last one and charged into the room. Loki's head instantly snapped to look at me, and I did not appreciate his predatory smile.

"You're that little girl from the plane." I simply nodded and steeled myself to begin speaking.

"You know, Loki, there are a lot of religions that have come and gone, especially those with multiple gods. The Greek gods, the Roman gods, the Egyptian gods, the Norse gods: none of them have mass followings today. Some people don't even realize there were Egyptian or Norse gods. So I repeat what I said; why didn't you take this chance to start over? However, that is the past."

"So you are telling me your pathetic planet has forgotten the only intelligence to ever land here? For you ignorance you deserve my rule. I will make sure you never again forget the name of Loki." I simply raised my eyebrow at him and his sneering, condescending tone and ignored him.

"Whether nature or nurture has the dominant affect on a person is a very old debate, Loki. I firmly believe it is how you were raised that determines how you think and act, not who to or how you were born. Of course, I even more firmly believe in freedom of choice. Choose well, Loki No-ones-son."

That was the closest I had gotten to admitting I knew he was a frost giant to his face, so I walked quickly out of the room before he could retort or become angry. Hopefully something had gotten through to Loki. It had gone a little differently than I had ever imagined before I had come to this world. Funny how your priorities and how you interact change when it all becomes real.


	14. Inadequate

After exiting the cell room, I found an empty corridor and tried to reorient my thoughts. Thankfully Loki hadn't spoken too much or thrown me off. I just had to hope that if Loki ever got free that he wouldn't try to corner me or something.

"Rachel?"

"Captain Rodgers!" Surprisingly, he was carrying a bulky weapon in his arms. Oh yeah. The lab argument was about to happen. Time to be the ringmaster of the three ring circus. "Would you mind if I followed you back to the lab? I am severally directionally challenged in this maze."

"Of course, Ma'am." Darn it; that made me sound old. It was sweetly respectful though.

"I would prefer Miss, if that is alright. I think I'm still a couple years away from earning enough respect to be a Ma'am. I'm not even 21 yet."

"You seem very mature for your age, Rachel."

"Well, you haven't seen me with chocolate yet; I turn into a three year old." A laugh! I got a depressed, war-zone-ready Captain to laugh! Hopefully things keep going this well, I thought to myself.

We fell into a comfortable silence as I tried to figure out the best game plan. I could just go in, go down the list of personal peeves individually, and then tell them the plan for defeating the aliens. However, that meant they would know that I knew exactly how this meeting was going to pan out, which was very awkward. I couldn't just let them have at each other either. As we neared the lab, I heard voices through the open door.

"...within half a mile."

"Yeah, you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss." Tony gave a dramatic pause just as we got to the door. "What is Phase 2?" Captain took this as his cue to enter the lab and drop what he was carrying on a table.

"Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons! Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me."

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract," I urgently motioned to the Director to not continue his thought.

"Well, this wasn't collected." Tony turned the computer screen around to show the schematics of a weapon.

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." What did that mean exactly?

"And it never will. There will always be bad men and always be those trying to defend the freedom of innocents from those men. Sometimes those defending make almost as big a mess as the bad guys, but at least their hearts are in the right place." My planned defense of Fury and his phase 2 plan having been spoken, I was very uncomfortable with the stares from the four men in the room. "I just mean...violence never deters violence, but if you have no defense plan at all that's pretty stupid too."

"Defense plan? How are weapons like that a defense plan?" In so many ways you are correct, Banner, and in some ways you are so wrong.

"Aliens are at our door step. Not everything can be taken down by a single bullet."

A mental image of the Leviathans sent a shiver down my spine. Those things could cause a lot of damage. Despite this, if Thor didn't insist on taking the Tesseract back with him to Asgard, I would ask him to insist. The Tesseract was too powerful and would draw way too much unwanted attention if it stayed on Earth.

"Now, Director, can we move the staff to a more secure location and sick a couple guards on it? I'm sure Loki's rescue team will be arriving shortly. Doctor Banner? Could I speak to you for a moment?"

"Stark, Rodgers, with me, please." The two heroes followed the Director while Natasha, who had walked in while I was speaking, grabbed the staff. With everyone and the staff out of the lab and heading in opposite directions, I felt a lot better. Now I wondered if I could convince Banner to let the Hulk help with the aliens on Stark Tower.

"Doctor Banner, have you ever considered that if there was an alien army heading out of a portal, that the human lives you save might easily outweigh anyone you might hurt while being the Hulk? Add to that the fact that Hulk might not like being cooped up so long, and the longer you wait the worse he might be?" I had no idea if I was correct about the second question, but it was a reasonable inquiry. Banner was thoughtfully silent for a long moment before the ship lurched. "The cavalry has arrived for the opposing side!" Banner might have looked at me like I had lost my mind. At least he wasn't in danger of turning into the Hulk unwillingly. "Safest place is probably the control room. Do you know how to get there?"

"Umm..." I remembered he had been escorted to his lab, maybe even on the other side, so he didn't really know his way around.

"That's fine. Jarvis? If you're not too busy keeping Mr. Stark alive, could you tell me how to get to the control room?"

"Certainly, Miss Rachel." Thankfully we weren't too far from the room, though I think we took some detours for safety reasons. "Here you are, Miss Rachel."

"Thanks so much, Sir Jarvis." I carefully directed Banner to lean against the wall where we couldn't get shot at, then called into the room. "Rachel Christenson and Doctor Banner requesting permission to enter the control room." I didn't want to just walk in where the Director's sharp shooting skills could easily get me, but I didn't want to crouch in and raise suspicion and gunfire either.

"Permission granted," came the commanding voice of the Director. As we entered, Coulson, Director, and Banner all gave me strange looks.

"Better safe than sorry." I was just really glad Coulson was in the control room. That meant he wasn't doing something stupidly heroic.

"All hostile forces have been neutralized except one." You get three guesses for who it is, and the last two don't count. I was able to catch Coulson's eye and directed it to the hole in the wall where Clint had shown up in the movie. Coulson then directed several SHIELD agent's aim to that spot.

We waited several long moments before I remembered the true purpose of Clint's mission: free Loki. The distractions, taking down the helicarrier, and separating the Avengers was just hot fudge, caramel, and whipped cream on top of the ice cream. I took off for Loki's cage before my brain could catch up with my actions.

Since I was looking up, I somehow managed to see Hawkeye before he saw me. I quickly looked around for a way to contact someone. I was reaching into my pocket for my phone when, suddenly, I was gagged with a piece of cloth. As soon as I realized this wasn't a friendly action, I began violently flaying trying to hit my attacker. I began aiming more for the head, but Clint was behind me. He even managed to restrain my arms, so I began hitting my head backward with as much force as possible. He probably had a harder resistance to being knocked out that I did, but I just had to hope that it worked or that someone, hopefully Natasha, was coming.

He began moving to my side where my head could not hit him, so I changed tactics by stomping on each of his feet. That gave me enough of a distraction to hit him with my head one more time. Delay, delay, delay. I didn't have chance, but Natasha, or practically anyone else, did. Hopefully she came soon. Clint retaliated by giving my head a resounding smack. It was actually the first time he had attacked me. Hanging limply, I decided to pretend I was beaten. He moved back behind me and started moving me forward. Where were we going? I never was going to find out, because I attacked Clint with my head again. Growling, I felt Clint shove me forward. Thankfully, whatever was going to happen next was interrupted by a large pipe hitting Clint before he was shoved head first into the wall.

I let myself relax once I saw it was Natasha. With less adrenaline in my system though, my head was ringing painfully and my area of vision was dark around the edges. I blindly groped for the cloth covering my mouth while watching Natasha stand over Clint's unmoving body. Immense guilt for what I had done to both Clint and Natasha washed over me. It only increased when Natasha stooped to help me remove the gag. I raised my head from where it was resting on the floor so I could turn it to help her reach the knot better. My vision was getting even darker, so I dropped my head limply.

"Rachel, Rachel, you have to stay awake. You might have a concussion. Hey!" When did an assassin have to clap in my face to gain my attention? "Stay with me. Talk to me." The invitation opened the flood works.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop it. It's all my fault."

"Nothing is your fault Rachel." How much more wrong could she get?

"I hurt Clint. I hurt him bad. It's my fault." Paramedics arrived and got me onto a stretcher. I wasn't much help and felt even more guilty as Natasha hovered over me instead of helping Clint who was being restrained to a stretcher behind her. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Let's talk about something else. Where's home?" She didn't seem to be paying attention to my apologies, so I answered her question.

"Alright spy, I'll play along. The south. Hot summers, nonexistent winters, and a big city where I didn't get an accent. The bible belt. The football fans are crazy back home."

"Which football fans?"

"All of them." She gave me a weird look and I wondered if I had heard her right. "Sunday night football is a big deal. Sundays should be more about church though."

"Church?"

"I'm Christian. The ladies there are so nice to me. I get so many hugs." I could use a hug right now. "I have this one friend who swings me around sometimes when we hug, just infrequently enough that it startles me. You know what really startled me? Agent Coulson turning up at my hotel. I was all like, what?" I sounded a little bit like a normal teenager for that last part.

"Agent Romanov?" Speak of the angel and he shall appear! Or was the quote devil? But that would be Thanos! "I'll take care of Rachel." Natasha disappeared from my view, and Coulson replaced her.

"Hello, Agent. That's not your first name though, even if Tony thinks it is. You're Phil the protector. Phil the daredevil. Phil the Director's right hand man. I shouldn't be calling you Phil." Was I speaking out loud or were these my thoughts? "Agent Coulson, was I speaking out loud?" When Coulson didn't respond right away, I was in some ways relieved and in others not. Then he spoke.

"Yes you were, Rachel. Make sure to get a CAT scan on her." A CAT scan? Did they have a mutant cat who was going to curl up by me? Okay, that thought was out there. Scrunching my eyes closed, I tried to organize my thoughts but was distracted by someone shaking me. "Rachel! You have to stay awake." Why did I have to stay awake? The alien invasion!

"The portal! Is everyone at the portal? Are they there to stop the aliens? Was the nuke approved? Are they alright?" The look Coulson was giving me told me I had done something wrong. "That's why I have to stay awake, right? To make sure everyone is safe?" Hesitantly he nodded and I felt like I had missed something. This feeling didn't go away as he turned and talked to the nurses. Stay awake. Stay awake. They might need you. Only you know how the movie went.

"Rachel?" Coulson was back. "You feel up to helping make sure everything goes according to plan?" Do I feel up to making sure no one died? Anytime, anywhere.

"Of course." He nodded stately, and I began being wheeled in another direction, probably the control room, to watch the ultimate showdown.


End file.
